Arrogance knows no limits.
We have a shutdown of state government for the July 4th weekend in NJ, courtesy of Governor Krispie (Christie) Cream. Highlights include the closing of state parks and beaches for the weekend for everyone EXCEPT the governor, who is enjoying the holiday in the closed-to-the-public Island Beach State Park.
Why the closing?
The governor eliminated a surtax on high income individuals at the beginning of his first term in office, creating a budget crisis. He failed to find revenue to cover the gap created by the cancelled tax.
His current proposal calls for a special tax on the state Blue Cross and Blue Shield health insurance provider to cover that gap. The insurer will of course pass that tax on to policy holders — basically a back door tax increase.
In the absence of a budget resolution agreeing to his plan, Christie shut the state government.
My hypothesis about his thinking: since health insurance rates are going to climb due to Trump, consumers might not notice a modest additional increase due to Christie. He could bury his increase in Trump’s, and blame someone else.
He wants to blame the shutdown on the Democrats for not going along with his plan. In fact, most people are correctly blaming him. As one blogger wrote, Christie might end his term in November with a popularity rating of less than 10%. His Lieutenant Governor is running to replace Christie this fall; he’s killing her chances of winning.
Gov. Christie Cream — what a piece of work.
Sources:
- Tom Davis, “N.J. Government Shutdown Continues As Christie Faces Backlash,” Toms River Patch, 2 July 2017. https://patch.com/new-jersey/princeton/s/g636l/n-j-government-shutdown-continues-as-christie-faces-backlash-video?utm_source=alert-breakingnews&utm_medium=email&utm_term=weather&utm_campaign=alert
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