NJ Spotlight published the following article on July 1, 2014. To read the full article, click here.
Christie Uses Vetoes To Drive Political Message For 2016 Campaign
Mark J. Magyar | July 1, 2014
For Gov. Chris Christie, the $34.1 billion budget and tax increases the Democratic-controlled Legislature approved last week represented an opportunity to drive home a political message aimed as much at future presidential primary voters in Iowa and New Hampshire as those in New Jersey who reelected him to a second term last November.
Christie vetoed Democratic legislation to raise the income tax rate on millionaires to 10.75 percent and impose a 15 percent surcharge on the corporate business tax, arguing that “punitively raising taxes on our already overtaxed residents and small businesses is not the answer to the state’s short- and long-term fiscal challenges.”
The Republican governor also defended his decision to cut $1.5 billion from the legally required pension payments in the upcoming budget by noting that the $2.89 billion he will contribute to the pension system in his first five years in office is more than any previous New Jersey governor.
He also argued that the $681 million payment he is making in Fiscal Year 2015 will cover the current cost of benefits earned by active teachers and state workers — even though it does nothing to pay down the $40 billion unfunded liability that has built up over the past 15 years, including on Christie’s watch.