Just wondering what you all think....

[donkeyjon.livejournal.com]

Any folks here from NJ who can comment on this? If the information he's giving is factual, it sounds like the teacher's union is screwing over their own members.

Comments

[udoswald.livejournal.com]

Chris Christie is a jerk just in general so I wouldn't give too much weight to his claims on anything. His brash, uncompromising attitude, seemed to work when he was US Attorney but it's not doing him any favors now that he's the Governor. He's decided to continue being an attention whore, and try his hardest to get his ugly mug on TV every single day, instead of actually trying to save the state.

Christie came into office and immediately started lobbing bombs at the state's schools and especially at the teachers. He's decided he's going to balance the budget on the backs of the schools in this state (which, as the teacher stated, were some of the best in the country at least under past administrations).

There are strong teachers' unions in this state, which is necessary since administrations of both parties have tried to score political points and save money by screwing the teachers. The fact that they didn't bow down and take a huge pay cut/fee increase, in a year when I'm sure every teacher's rent went up and other costs increased, is hardly a mark of shame.

The unions aren't "screwing over their own members", they're trying to keep the state from balancing its budget solely by hurting the teachers. If Christie is so worried about decreasing state revenue, he could easily stop his plan to give the rich in this state a huge tax cut. That would certainly help increase state revenues.

Oh, and if Christie is so concerned about increased costs/decreased revenue for the schools maybe he shouldn't have screwed up the whole Race to the Top thing. Those hundreds of millions of dollars would have been helpful in closing that billion dollar gap.

[donkeyjon.livejournal.com]

While I agree that the unions should try to force the governor to take money from elsewhere, when he reveals that he's not bluffing and that he will be laying off teachers, the union has a choice to protect its employees or lose some.

I also should point out that at least in KS and MI, state employees haven't gotten raises for a couple of years now. Expecting to receive a raise in this economy is not really seeing the whole picture.

That having been said, thank you for providing context and pointing out that this isn't a black and white issue. Christie has an entire budget available to him, and he is positioning this as a decision that cannot possibly be fixed in any other way, which is false.

[udoswald.livejournal.com]

Christie doesn't have the power to lay off any teachers. What he did was demand that individual school districts lay off as many teachers as possible so he could castrate the teachers' unions.

He then went to the people of the state and used the pulpit provided to him as Governor to suggest people vote against their local property tax levies (why the Governor should be getting involved in local school board elections is beyond me, especially when he's doing it to negatively effect local town finances). After he was successful in getting New Jerseyans to vote down many local school levies, he went further and cut funding drastically to the schools (meaning schools lost revenue from local taxes and lost revenue from the state making massive layoffs inevitable). Schools are now in such a financial hole that they're requiring students to bring in things like Windex and paper towels and clean classrooms because the schools had to fire the janitor. He also took control of the budget surpluses that had been accumulated by local governments essentially punishing towns for being fiscally responsible and further damaging their budgets.

I doubt giving in to Christie's terroristic demands would have saved a single teacher's job. Christie is not a negotiator, he's used to getting what he wants and is unwilling to compromise on anything. This was a decent personality trait when he was US Attorney (even though even then he was a jerk) but it's a horrible trait now that he's managed to buy the Governorship. What he wanted was to get lots of teachers fired and that's what he would have gotten no matter what.

Obviously it's a hard financial time but unions should still fight to get the best deal possible for their members. If a union just bends over and lets management get whatever it wants pay cuts can't be far off. It's the union's job to represent its members, not to worry about what other people are getting. Besides, the deal wasn't more than just keeping pay stagnant. Christie was expecting teachers to pay more for their benefits which, absent a raise, is a pay cut.

[sammygoliath.livejournal.com]

Could someone explain to me what "pay freeze" refers to in this context?

[merig00.livejournal.com]

no automatic raise.

[sammygoliath.livejournal.com]

I checked out his wiki to find out more info, and OMG THERE IS A COMPETITION TO DETERMINE FEDERAL FUNDING OF SCHOOLS???!!?

http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/faq.pdf

Yeah, if his numbers check out then he's got a point. I won't check them because I don't like his demeanor.

[merig00.livejournal.com]

[sammygoliath.livejournal.com]

Wahhhh!!! waahhhh!!! nobody likes the way I talk!!!!

That was not pleasant to watch. His demeanor is deplorable, and watching his cronies laugh on cue is painful.

On the other hand, he's a governor, which means he needs to take part in a COMPETITION to determine how much his state will get for an education budget. Geeze luise, I'd be furious.

[merig00.livejournal.com]

well NJ took part in the competition and the NJ BofEd screwed up, and the commissioner got fired as the result.

[sammygoliath.livejournal.com]

I can't find a concise source on this issue... But I have many questions, and if you could point me to reliable sources I'd much appreciate it.

1) What is the average percentage the federal government contributes to state education systems?

2) What percentage of the total federal budget is awarded in this competitive basis?

3) Since when has it been competitive?

4) If a state decides not to compete, do the citizens of that state get some form of tax relief?

[udoswald.livejournal.com]

The Race to the Top program was a specific thing that was designed to reward states with innovative ideas with extra funding money. It wasn't the sole funding provided by the federal government. It was additional funding provided under the Stimulus program.

New Jersey was on track to be the 10th state in the program (there were 10 states total). The state Sec. of Education prepared the required paperwork in cooperation with the teachers' unions. That paperwork contained the correct information and if it had been submitted as/is New Jersey would have received somewhere around half a billion in education funding. The paperwork was sent to the Governor's office for approval. While there, Christie decided it was insufficiently punitive towards the teacher's unions and demanded it be changed.

During those changes, the information was somehow screwed up and data from the wrong years was provided. Because this information was incorrect, New Jersey lost points and Ohio beat them out for that last slot. The Governor then lied about conversations he had with the Sec. of Education about the application, lumped all the blame on Schunder (the Sec. of Education), and fired him. Personally, I think Christie intentionally screwed up so the state wouldn't get the money and the schools would still have to fire the teachers (but that might just be partisan politics on my part). Even if he didn't do it intentionally, he still screwed up and then blamed someone else.

Christie's "demeanor" has been a problem from the beginning. His last actual political position was County Freeholder (a position rewarded to well connected partisan hacks with very few actual legislative responsibilities mostly concerned with passing out money to political allies). After he left that position he bought himself an appointment as US Attorney for New Jersey when Bush was President.

His brash, self-aggrandizing attitude was more appropriate back then (though even then he rubbed a lot of people the wrong way by constantly grandstanding and trying to get in front of the cameras. He also, of course, launched a lot of Rovian investigations against Dems in election years).

Now that he's Governor, the attitude is catastrophic for the state. If a few minutes of tape was enough to sour you to his demeanor, think how bad those in the legislature and his staff have it. They have to hear him constantly.

[sammygoliath.livejournal.com]

I can't say I've been following New Jersey very closely, but having read his wikipedia article, I think you're being unfair about some things.

First, if it is true that he is self serving, he wouldn't do anything INTENTIONALLY so that it would be necessary to fire teachers. (Do you have proof that he lied about conversations with the secretary of education?)

Second, apparently as US attorney, he won convictions for corruption for republicans as well as democrats, something which in this political climate is special.

Third, if his attitude and demeanor have always been this harsh, then you get what you vote for. Nothing says he needs to be likable after being elected.

Fourth, in the response to the teacher, to his credit, he does not blame anybody except the teachers union. He has figures (which I haven't checked) at the tip of his tongue, and presents his argument in a convincing way.

I still don't like him though.

[udoswald.livejournal.com]

First, if it is true that he is self serving, he wouldn't do anything INTENTIONALLY so that it would be necessary to fire teachers.

You're assuming the people he's playing to are rational. That's a mistake. The Republican voter in New Jersey is a special, and despicable, creature. They've been hating on the teacher unions, and the teachers in general, for a long time. They've never understood the need to maintain well funded schools and most of them don't seem to care about the quality of education in New Jersey (it was one of the best in the nation but then maybe they send their kids to Catholic school). Regardless, he's scoring major points with those who voted for him by sticking it to the teachers unions/teachers and that is quite clearly his intention and not just a happy accident.

(Do you have proof that he lied about conversations with the secretary of education?)

Schundler (the former sec. of education) has provided proof that he didn't say the things to Christie that Christie claims he did. Christie's justification for firing him was that he lied to the Governor, Schundler provided proof he didn't lie.

Second, apparently as US attorney, he won convictions for corruption for republicans as well as democrats, something which in this political climate is special.

He prosecuted a couple low ranking Republicans to maintain appearances. He didn't indict anyone high on the state party hierarchy. He also leaked to the media that an investigation was pending against Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) when he was running for election. That investigation magically disappeared when Menendez's election was over (he won, despite Christie's efforts) and they could no longer try to throw the election. This is a classic Rovian trick. The very fact that he survived those famous US Attorney firings under Gonzales prove he was willing to play ball with Rove.

Third, if his attitude and demeanor have always been this harsh, then you get what you vote for. Nothing says he needs to be likable after being elected.

I didn't vote for him. The people from NJ had ample information to make an informed decision about the man, and should not have voted for him. There was lots of information about his demeanor. There was also information about how he used his position as US Attorney to escape justice (including a case where he was driving the wrong way down a one-way street and almost killed a guy). Unfortunately, the people of NJ were just too pissed off that Corzine didn't wave his magic wand and solve the problems caused by Bush's economic policies quickly enough so they didn't make the rational decision and instead just tried to punish Corzine.

he does not blame anybody except the teachers union.

Blaming the teachers unions is a time honored way of blasting teachers in this state. Make no mistake, his comments are directed at every single teacher in the state.

He has figures (which I haven't checked) at the tip of his tongue,

That's easy to do when you're making things up on the fly.

and presents his argument in a convincing way.

I never said he wasn't a good con-man.

I still don't like him though.

You are a very good judge of human character.

[sammygoliath.livejournal.com]

1)
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/press/new_jersey/article_9b3871f4-afd5-11df-88dd-001cc4c03286.html

2)
After a demeaning 2 hour trip to youtube, I have to conclude that at least his statements to the public are consistent. Whether or not he was informed, there is no doubt who made the error and didn't provide the numbers. Apparently he even had a chance to correct the mistake!

3)
I wish I had the time to evaluate everybody's importance in his closet cleaning maneuver, but I don't... According to Wiki, he never lost a case as attorney, so he must have been doing something right..

4)
I agree with a previous poster. He is a startled cat, and should rather switch to decaf!

5)
Somehow I'm not surprised, unions can be difficult to deal with.

6)
Dear lord, and attack... are you really going to make me check those? can't I please just assume they're correct?

8) Thanks, and thanks for a lovely and informative discussion!

[donkeyjon.livejournal.com]

Generally, it means no raises for this year, and no new hires (hiring freeze). But I'm not sure in this case, which is why I asked for people in NJ to comment.

[sammygoliath.livejournal.com]

I was silly enough to think that "pay freeze" meant "salary freeze", and I watched the whole entire thing going "he's such an idiot, I can't believe I'm watching this."

[merig00.livejournal.com]

Teacher's union had two choices

a) agree for a single year pay freeze and 1.5% salary contribution to the health insurance plan (currently state pays 100%)

b) teacher layoffs

The union decided to go with option b... and it's somehow Christie's fault.

To put things into the perspective - 65% of my property taxes goes toward school budget. We already fired several police officers, our general garbage collection is once per week now (the smell was just horrible this hot summer) and recicables collection is cut so if they don't have time to collect your paper/plastic you can drive it yourself to DPW office. Our library hours were cut to minimum required by state, etc.
I don't see why Teachers Union thinks that they are untouchable.

[drivebyluna.livejournal.com]

Just a question, how often does the garbage come in your area? Do you live in an apartment complex?

Ours only comes once a week but we live in a 5 apartment house.

[merig00.livejournal.com]

single family house... we had 2 days per week - regular garbage pick up, once a week recyclable and alternating weeks metal or grass/leaves. Now we have 1 day per week regular garbage - the rest stayed the same but they cut hours so if the DPW workers didn't get to your house on time you get stuck with your recyclables. So now they are planning to open up "reception" at the DPW office so that people could bring whatever wasn't picked up on their own.

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

I've watched every video of these posted in various places, and I think every state needs a Christie. Honesty is friggin' refreshing.

[lafinjack.livejournal.com]

Except for the parts where he lied about what his administration has done, and what his administration has been told (on tape).

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

Except that he hasn't, but hey.

[lafinjack.livejournal.com]

Yes he did.

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

Okay, when?

[lafinjack.livejournal.com]

http://community.livejournal.com/politicartoons/2182307.html?thread=50385315#t50385315