Chris Christie on Jobs

I fought greedy unions and irresponsible spending in N.J.

But the unions continue to want more and more and more. And in a Democratic state like New Jersey, it's tough to get them to push even further. But think about this. What the last credit report said was if the pension problem were fixed, New Jersey would be in good fiscal condition. And that's because we cut spending $2.5 billion from 16, lower than where it was in fiscal year '08.

So this is not about not having enough revenue. The government was too big. We've made it smaller. And if the pension system continues to get better, we'll be fine.

New Jersey had 0% job growth; then I created 192,000 jobs

CHRISTIE: If you think it's bad now, you should've seen it when I got there. The fact is, in the 8 years before I became governor, taxes and fees were raised at the state level 115 times; spending was increased 56%; and there was zero net private sector job growth in New Jersey. Zero. For 8 years. So, what did we do? We came in, we balanced an $11 billion deficit on a $29 billion budget by cutting over 800 programs in the state budget. We brought the budget into balance with no tax increases. In fact, we vetoed 5 income tax increases during my time as governor. And, what's happened since? 192,000 private sector jobs in the 5 years I've been governor. We have a lot of work to do in New Jersey, but I am darn proud we've brought our state back.

Focus on reducing unemployment but not government employment

• We recorded our 5th consecutive year of private sector job growth, and the unemployment rate continues to steadily go down.
• We have attracted and retained companies--from Subaru USA to the Philadelphia 76ers to Sandoz.
• We have grown our economy and more people are working, supporting their families and knowing the power of going to work every day in New Jersey today than one year ago.
• We have done this while holding the line on government spending and government employment.

Don't raise minimum wage; create better-paying jobs instead

(VIDEO CLIP) CHRISTIE: I'm tired of hearing about minimum wage. I don't think there's a mother or father sitting around a kitchen table tonight in America who are saying, "You know, honey, if our son or daughter could just make a higher minimum wage, my God, all our dreams would be realized."

Q: For people who are making $7.25 an hour, the minimum wage now, they say getting increase of $10 an hour would make a big difference in their lives and that you were being cavalier about it?

CHRISTIE: I'm saying it exactly as I see it. What we need to do in this country is not have debate over a higher minimum wage. We have to have a debate over creating better-paying middle class jobs in the country. If that somehow doesn't comport with what people in the political elite want, well, I'm sorry.

Zero means zero: fight abuse of sick leave & pension fraud

Our pension system is burdened by some who collect disability retirement because they claim they are "totally and permanently disabled," but who are now working full-time. So we've established by Executive Order a special unit to prosecute pension fraud. Let's go even further to solidify our pension system and reduce costs by reforming our disability retirement system to end this fraud and abuse. This will also help us to reduce property taxes.

I inherited 119,000 private-sector jobs lost

Christie's number is in the ballpark. Let's look at the Republican governor's numbers and whether Corzine is truly to blame for those lost jobs. Both the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and NJ Department of Labor show NJ had 3,209,900 private-sector jobs in December 2009. A year prior, the state had 3,325,600 private-sector jobs. That's a net loss of 115,700 jobs.

Next, we need to determine whether Corzine really is to blame for those lost jobs. The first half of 2009--Corzine's last year in office--was marked by recession. The governor not only can't take all the credit for job gains, he can't pin blame for loss solely on another administration when there are other factors at work.

Our ruling: Since the governor's number is off slightly and the claim implies that Corzine is to blame for those job losses, we give Christie a ruling of Half True.

75,000 new private sector jobs since taking office in 2010

• Unemployment is coming down.
• 2011 was our best private sector job growth year in eleven years and 2012 is also positive.
• Personal income set a record high in New Jersey for the seventh quarter in a row.
• Gross income tax receipts are exceeding the Administration's projections for this fiscal year prior to Sandy.
• Sales of new homes are up.
• Consumer spending is up.
• Industrial production is up.

Supports Urban Hub program and Economic Redevelopment Grants

S-2972 expands the ERGG program to make growth areas in the Meadowlands eligible for ERGG grants, adding the Meadowlands to the other areas of the state where growth is encouraged and eligibility for ERGG grants is already provided, including State Planning Areas, Pinelands growth areas, transit villages and closed federal military bases.

In addition, the legislation also makes several changes to the Urban Hub program: increasing the credit for residential projects from 20% to 35% of eligible costs over 10 years; and allowing the tax credits to be carried forward for up to 20 years.

Garden State Growth Zones to attract new private investment

• Garden State Growth Zones. Combine existing economic zones to create a super zone to attract new private investment and jobs.
• Putting NJ Back to Work. Focus on worker retraining for unemployed New Jerseyans and connecting with them with businesses.
• Provide grants for public colleges for renewable energy related curriculum and training.
• Renew NJ and the Choose NJ Energy Campaign. Market and sell NJ's resources to energy producers, innovators and developers.

NJ Partnership for Action: attract quality-paying jobs

Highlights from the Plan to Get New Jersey Working Again:
• Cut taxes and the cost of doing business in New Jersey
• Make New Jersey's health care more affordable for small businesses
• Promote New Jersey as a good place to do business
• Create the "New Jersey Partnership for Action"
• Cut excessive red tape and regulation
• Increase efficiency in public sector investment

Ok with either unionized state workers or civil service

Christie responded, "And, you know what it is to hire illegal immigrants."

Lonegan said the state would be better off without a unionized workforce.

Christie said he wanted either unionized state workers or employees working under a civil service system, but not both, which sometimes have differing rules.