All mentioned thus far was more of a recap of the previous year to paint the picture of where Christie wants to take the state next. The chief initiative laid by the governor was 10% income tax. As Christie stated,
"(We need) real relief from the heavy income tax burden that has strangled our families and forced many to move away. I propose to reduce income tax rates for each and every New Jerseyan. In every tax bracket. By 10% across the board. I also propose to fully restore the earned income tax credit for New Jersey’s working poor, which we were forced to cut during the dark days of 2010, when growth was gone and we had no money. Understand what this means – every New Jerseyan will get a cut in taxes. The working poor. The struggling middle class. The new college graduates getting their first job. The senior citizens who have already retired. The single mom. The job creators. The parents trying to afford to send their son or daughter to college. Everyone made the sacrifice. Everyone will share in the benefit."
Christie is touting the income tax as another incentive as part of the New Jersey Comeback, but it has begun to garner mixed reviews regarding its impact and implementation. As part of his argument for the tax rate, he targeted New York and Connecticut; two states that are raising income tax rates for the top earners. The millionaire's tax has stalled in the Garden State twice largely due to Christie's opposition to the Democratic measure and thus it should not surprising that he is critical of other leaders who are more open to such measures to fix budgets and generate state revenue. He was just as quick to highlight similar measures for California and Illinois as the opposite of what the Garden State needs and opposite of what is going to move the state forward.
Like with pension and benefits reform, a millionaire's tax, and gay marriage; Christie should look north to New York and its Governor Andrew Cuomo on how to address this matter. Nonetheless, the stubborn Christie lamented;
"In this environment, the best way to compete is to show a different direction. Let others choose tax increases. We choose responsible tax cuts to give our overburdened citizens real relief. And to help New Jersey grow. Now some will argue, 'Wait a minute: New York only raised taxes on the rich. Why not adopt Governor Cuomo’s package for New Jersey?' Here are the facts. If we enacted the exact same income tax rates put into law by New York last month, every person earning below $100,000 a year would face a tax increase – of anywhere from 150 to 200%. And, by the way, those earning a million dollars would get a tax cut. Is that what we want? Is that fairness? I don’t think so. An across the board tax cut is fair – every New Jersey taxpayer will benefit. Every New Jerseyan’s rates will go down. Every New Jerseyan will see relief. This is exactly what I was talking about when I took office; that the tough choices would lead to the right ones."
Second to income tax reform is a returning tenant: education reform. The state had crucial debates in the wings of Trenton, but not much was truly accomplished that will create great change in the state. Fights in cities like Newark have highlighted the push and pull over key reforms like merit pay for teachers, teacher tenure, and the use of charter schools. 2011 might have been known for the steps being taken and 2012 might be the year breakthroughs occur. Christie has favorable support amongst members of both parties in the State Legislature for various aspects of his agenda. Christie laid out the issue by declaring,
"New Jersey, in so many ways, is blessed. The majority of our schoolchildren continue to perform well, above most other states, on national student assessment tests. New Jersey has so many great teachers producing so many great students. Too many in the educational establishment, however, use that very real success as a camouflage for abject failure elsewhere in New Jersey. To use the success of others as an excuse to block change for those we are failing is not only wrong, it is immoral. Too many of our schools are failing our children, and they have been failing for far too long. We live in a time when educational attainment and economic success are correlated as never before. That is a good thing. It means that for this generation of Americans, what you can achieve will be driven not by who you know, but by what you know."
On tenure reform:
"Tenure reform will lead to even greater student achievement because replacing underperforming teachers with even an average teacher raises each classroom’s lifetime earnings by over a quarter of a million dollars. Let’s act on real tenure reform now. Let’s replace despair with hope in every classroom in New Jersey. Because I believe it is obscene to be satisfied. When the chance for a life filled with hope and opportunity is determined not by how hard you are willing to work but by where you happen to live. Not by your intelligence, but by your zip code."
Money is often viewed as the answer to solve failing schools while the fact that there are underperforming teachers coasting by after their three years not assisting those struggling students in those schools to want to achieve success and take the steps needed to achieve said success. Programs like Teach for America display the importance of quality teachers in the country's education system. Many qualified young men and women often steer away from becoming a teacher because of the lack of pay and politicking that occurs in state systems. Christie has taken steps to rid some of the corruption at the top while also not endearing himself to important education groups like the New Jersey Education Association. There will unfortunately be students who struggle due to home environments, lack of knowledge or desire, or other factors.
However, without trying to create an education that rewards students and teachers alike; the state and its leaders are simply accepting the status quo. The state's education system has continued to shine in various fashions and reforms led by teacher tenure and merit pay reform would only create more successes down the road. Unless you come from Abbott Districts, you tend be ignored in several funding opportunities. However, a lot of that trend reversing itself is up to Christie to showing as commitment to education at budget time as he seems to express in January during his annual address. It should not take the state courts reversing budget cuts to ensure the poorest schools are properly addressed in terms of funding. In order to make these bold changes, Christie must be committed to the potential political fights and the costs that could be involved.
Furthermore, Christie would continue discussing education reform by voicing;
"My proposals reflect the input the administration has received at hundreds of meetings with educators, parents and professionals around the state. They are supported by independent research done at Harvard and Columbia. Most importantly, they reflect the intention we should all have: to put children first. The momentum to put children first began last week when you passed, and I traveled to Camden to sign, the Urban Hope Act. This new law will allow school districts in Newark, Camden and Trenton to partner with experts in the private sector to build and operate renaissance schools in these districts so in need of change. We have given some of our urban schools a signal that hope is on the way."
Bills like the Urban Hope Act come under attack by critics of Christie's meddling with public schools and potentially creating an unfair environment for many who directly benefit from public schools in poorer neighborhoods. Moreover, here is a breakdown of what Christie would like to see done when it comes to addressing education reform this year:
1) Reform tenure – by measuring teacher effectiveness, both with professional observation, and objective, quantifiable measures of student achievement – and then by giving tenure to those with strong evaluations, and taking it away from those whose ratings are unacceptably weak. We cannot ask parents to accept failure in teachers when their children’s lives hang in the balance
2) If layoffs are necessary remove the least effective teachers instead of just the most junior ones. It is time to end the system of “last in, first out,” which protects some of the worst and penalizes some of the best
3) Pay teachers more when they are assigned to a failing school or to teach a difficult subject. Compensation should be designed to attract and retain effective teachers where we need them most
4) End forced placements. Teachers should not be assigned to schools without the mutual consent of the teacher and the principal. If an acceptable placement can’t be found in 12 months, the school district should have the right to place the teacher on permanent unpaid leave
5) We should reform our process for authorizing charter schools to attract the best operators to New Jersey, to streamline the process for the best performers, to focus on our failing school districts and to encourage innovation. We must give parents and children in failing schools an alternative
6) Establish tax credits to provide scholarships for low income students in the worst-performing schools in the state to enable them to attend a better school, either out of the district or a private school. Opportunity should not be offered to only those in an excellent school district or with parents who have the money to release their children from the prison that is a failing school. Let’s pass the opportunity scholarship act now
Each of those six have their fair share of critics especially the latter two. Getting those through the State Legislature will take time and will likely be fractured and then presented in a clear form if it gets the desired transaction. Christie's commentary on the list might sum them up best:
"These are not radical reforms; they are common sense. They are not rash; they are long overdue. And they are not luxuries which can afford to languish for another six months or another year; they are essential for New Jersey’s success."
The union conflicts he encountered with the path to benefits and pension reform for public employees will likely arise in this case with a different set of union members and leaders. Those at the top of the education food chain do not want to see these changes implemented. Failing teachers do not want to see these changes implemented. It is reform that put children first and then create more incentives for several energized and caring young graduates to take their thirst for education and bring that to students across the state. The changes will also trickle outside the classroom and impact working families and those in unique settings (poor neighborhood, single parent household, or any other deterrent that negatively impacts a student's focus in school).
His third point of focus was on the state's inner cities and poor neighborhoods. His description of one woman he met while talking in Newark last year stood out. The woman posed the following to him at one of his infamous town halls:
“I just wonder if the amount of violence, the amount of shootings, the amount of murders that take place in the city of Newark. I just wonder sometimes if it bothers you like it bothers us. Particularly the mothers who have lost their children. Help us."
Cassandra Dock, the woman posing the question, was in the chamber during Christie's address and she is a prime example of some mentioned in the last statement made by this Examiner on education reform. Cities like Newark have been showing improvements, but budget constraints especially regarding public safety have hindered the ability of cities to be projected safer than they have and safer in the future. For Christie, an outlet to assist making the necessary changes is bail reform. Christie would outline,
"I ask you to approve my bail reform package, which would mirror the federal system. It would keep offenders with a history of violence who are a danger to our communities in jail until the time of their trial, instead of releasing them into society to prey on the public. This may require a constitutional amendment but it is reform that is long overdue. Let us amend our bail laws to allow judges to consider the factor of dangerousness to our communities before we release a violent person back on to the street to maim or kill while they await trial. This, too, is just simple common sense."
Just as the state, as Christie projected, should address that matter; it should not ignore those who are deserving of a second chance and must not be shunned simply because they served time in prison. As he further stated on this topic as a whole,
"At the same time, let us reclaim the lives of those drug offenders who have not committed a violent crime. By investing time and money in drug treatment – in an in-house, secure facility – rather than putting them in prison. Experience has shown that treating non-violent drug offenders is two-thirds less expensive than housing them in prison. And more importantly – as long as they have not violently victimized society – everyone deserves a second chance, because no life is disposable. I propose mandatory treatment for every non-violent offender with a drug abuse problem in New Jersey, not just a select few. It will send a clear message to those who have fallen victim to the disease of drug abuse – we want to help you, not throw you away. We will require you to get treatment. Your life has value. Every one of God’s creations can be redeemed. Everyone deserves a second chance."
This Examiner spent time with Assemblyman Alberto Coutinho (D-29) a few years ago and he was exploring ways to improve prisoner rehabilitation at that time. He along with other members of the State Legislature would likely pick this up as something that is often ignored or slips through the cracks when more pressing issues dominate the halls of Trenton. At a time when public safety is pressed budget wise, reforming as many of the state's prisoners would go a long way in taking one less violent or non-violent threat off the streets of cities like Newark.
As he wrapped up his speech, Christie recalled his first two years and the promise ahead. As he would exclaim,
"I have one simple message: for the New Jersey Comeback to continue and grow, we must all come together. This obligation is not just mine and it is not just (Lieutenant Governor) Kim (Guadagno)’s. It is not just Steve’s or Sheila’s, not just (state Senator Minority Leader) Tom (Kean)(R-21)’s or (Assembly Minority Leader) Jon (Bramnick)(R-21)’s. The New Jersey Comeback is not about what happens in Trenton alone. All of you are in this too. Our wins and losses are your wins and losses. Our successes and failures are your successes and failures. The New Jersey Comeback didn’t start just here and it won’t be sustained just here. The New Jersey Comeback is yours, too. And so I say to all of you, regardless of where you are, regardless of what region of our State you come from, regardless of what political party you call home, you have had a stake in what has happened over the last two years, and you have contributed to making it happen. Now is not the time to stop, now is the time to double down. Now is not the time to put the brakes on New Jersey’s growth. Now it is the time to put the foot down harder on the accelerator. Now is not the time to turn back. Now is the time to make New Jersey greatness a reality again."
Christie presents a slate of legislation that presents changes for the state. Education reform will the main carryover from last year and based on how he approaches his budget next month, positive reforms can laid out along with the necessary funds and resources including being able to hire good and qualified teachers. Inner city reform and prisoner reform are long overdue and are about as controversial as other items laid out by Christie over the last couple years. It will likely be his 10% income tax that finds the most fights as Democrats have shown more favorable feelings for the other two measures and are still holding out for a millionaire's tax, which would generate just as much if not more revenue for the state than a generic 10% cap.
Not mentioned by Christie was gay marriage reform and the mood is looking more and more favorable for that change in the state. Ultimately, it will be up to Christie if it passes because he would hold the veto power over any legislation that was able to escape the State Legislature. Like 2010 and 2011, 2012 presents more challenges for the state and Christie. How he handles them will go a long way in how he is perceived as well as the state. Next Janaury, he will likely go the State Legislature and partially present his case for reelection. Time will tell if this year and the last couple have proven his worth to the state.
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