TRENTON – Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney (D-Gloucester/Cumberland/Salem) released the following statement regarding Governor Chris Christie’s proposed $29.3 billion FY2011 budget, which was unveiled today before a joint session of the Legislature:
“Ever since his election, the Governor has been prepping New Jerseyans for a budget that would be painful and chock full of bad news.
“Cutting education and property tax rebates will make the sting of New Jersey’s highest-in-the-nation property taxes even worse.
“Cutting the earned income tax credit – a program championed by Ronald Reagan as ‘the best pro-family, the best job creation measure’ – will hurt low-income working families.
“It certainly will be interesting to see the Governor’s Republican colleagues fall over themselves to heap praise on a proposal that guts middle-class property tax relief, raises college tuitions and diverts trust fund money. Those shoes must feel strange now that they’re on different feet.
“I look forward to working with the Governor on finalizing what exactly will go into the toolbox to help local governments control spending and property taxes. We’ll get that job done, but it won’t distract us from the more immediate task of passing a balanced budget.”