Unemployment in New Jersey is not getting any better.
According to a report today on NJ.com, the state’s unemployment rate jumped a half point in May, from 9.2 percent to 9.7 percent, making it clear that the state is not — contrary to what Gov. Chris Christie has claimed — in the middle of a miracle recovery.
The state’s unemployment rate stood at 9.6 percent in October, just weeks before the election that brought Christie into the Statehouse. It peaked at 9.7 percent during the first couple of months of his term and then dipped to the low 9s where it remained until today’s report.
And it has remained well above the national figure for quite some time.
Christie avoided commenting today — the numbers had not been released when he spoke at a news conference — but his M.O. generally has been to blame the “Corzine Democrats” for the state’s economic woes, for everything bad, in fact, while taking credit for whatever good news comes along.
At some point, however, Christie has to take responsibility for the stalled state economy — just as President Barack Obama must take responsibility for the stagnant national one. Christie is nearing the end of his third year in office and, by virtue of the state constitution, commands a level of executive authority that almost no other governor commands and that the president can only wish for.
Instead, he has colluded with his Democratic opponents in approving a budget with unrealistic revenue expectations that are based on the false promise of a major recovery in process.
That’s not straight-shooting. That’s just B.S.
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