By Michael Aron
Chief Political Correspondent
Gov. Chris Christie was greeted by the leaders of the Southern New Jersey Chamber of Commerce as he arrived at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.
Inside, he spent an hour warning this friendly business audience that New Jersey Democrats will try to raise their taxes, as they’ve tried many times before.
“We said no and we have vetoed every tax increase that has come to our desk and there have been plenty of them. And we’ve taken plenty of abuse from the liberal editorial pages of this state and across both rivers which surround us. And let me give a message to all of them and to you: I don’t care,” Christie said.
His talk focused on four things: New Jersey’s return to prosperity as he sees it, the Atlantic City bankruptcy issue, the minimum wage and the spiraling costs of public pensions.
On Atlantic City, he railed against the city government’s excessive spending as he sees it, including the large payouts for unused sick and vacation time awarded to departing employees, as much as $350,000.
“Become an Atlantic City employee. They never get sick. They never use a sick day. These guys have never used a sick day in their entire career. The way to stay healthy obviously is not about good diet or exercise or take your flu shot or vitamin C, none of that. Just get employed by the Atlantic City government, you’ll never be sick a day in your life,” Christie said.
He said a ballot measure this fall that would hike the minimum wage over time to $15 an hour would cover 25 percent of the workforce and hit food stores especially hard.
“A New Jersey food retailer with 30 stores and almost 4,000 employees currently pays all employees above the minimum wage. An immediate and full increase would cost this company — now it’s 30 stores, 4,000 employees — it’s going to cost them $50 million, $50 million,” Christie said. “So you’re talking about an increase in your food cost because of this Democratic proposal of 10 to 15 percent.”
Also on the ballot this fall is a Democratic proposal to fully fund public pensions. Christie urged the crowd to reject it because it favors teachers and other public sector workers over all other citizens.
“This group of 800,000 people, public-sector union workers, 800,000 of them, both current and retired, would be ahead of everyone in spending priorities in this state, constitutionally ahead of everyone else. The 8.1 million will be paying for the 800,000. We will have completed the tail wagging the dog,” Christie said.
Christie portrayed himself as the sane Republican trying to hold an army of revenue-starved Democrats.
“I’m telling you, the animals are at the gate and they’re waiting to get your money and I’m the only one left at the gate saying no. And in 19 months, I get furloughed,” he said.
Moments later, he repeated the warning.
“If you don’t stop it and say no this fall and send them a message on the minimum wage constitutional amendment and the constitutional amendment on pensions, you will be signing a blank check and they will cash it if they get the governorship back in January of 2018,” he said.