ASSEMBLY DEMOCRATS ROOT AGAINST NEW JERSEY COMEBACK

BUT GARDEN STATE RESIDENTS KNOW THE JERSEY COMEBACK IS FOR REAL

Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald: “"The governor is now in full-fledged panic mode, lashing out at anyone who dares question him and present facts that show his so-called New Jersey Comeback is a cruel myth.” (Assemblyman Lou Greenwald, Press Release, 5/23/12)

Assembly Budget Chairman Vincent Prieto: “[Prieto] suggested Gov. Christie stop touting a non-existent ‘comeback’ …” (Assemblyman Vincent Prieto, Press Release, 5/23/12)

• “Budget Chair Prieto on Gov. Christie's Fictional 'Jersey Comeback'” (Assemblyman Vincent Prieto, Press Release, 5/23/12)

• Prieto: "This isn't a comeback. This is a major setback.” (Assemblyman Vincent Prieto, Press Release, 5/22/12)

Assemblyman John Burzichelli: "Despite the Governor's claims, New Jersey is not firmly out of the grips of this recession.” (Assemblyman John Burzichelli, Press Release, 5/23/12)

• “[I]t's hardly cause to celebrate and certainly not grounds to declare a 'comeback.'”

ASSEMBLY DEMOCRATS ROOTING AGAINST COMEBACK TO TRY ONCE AGAIN TO RAISE TAXES:

Assembly budget chairman Vincent Prieto: “Everything is on the table right now, or off the table I should say.” (Assemblyman Vincent Prieto, Interview With NJ 101.5 5/24/12)

• Prieto “left open the possibility of a state budget being passed without a tax cut.” (“Revenue shortfall imperils tax cut,” The Associated Press, 5/23/12)

In The Last Two Years, Assembly Democrats Have Proposed Increasing Income Taxes Three Times. (A10, Passed Assembly: 46-32, 5/20/10; A4202, Passed Assembly: 46-32, 6/29/11; Jarrett Renshaw, “N.J. Assembly, Senate introduce tax cuts targeting residents earning less than $250K,” The Star-Ledger, 3/6/12)

Trenton Democrats Increased Taxes 115 TimesTo Pay For Out Of Control Spending Over The Eight Years Before Governor Christie Took Office.

“New Jerseyans, for the second survey in a row, say the state is headed in the right direction, a phenomenon not seen in eleven years of polling by Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind.” (Fairleigh Dickinson University Poll, 797 RV, MoE +/- 3.5%, 4/30-5/6/12)

• In October Of 2009, Only 21 Percent Of New Jerseyans Thought The State Was On The Right Track, While 68 Percent Said The State Was Going In The Wrong Direction.

52 Percent Of New Jerseyans Say They Are “Satisfied With The Way Things Are Going In New Jersey Today.” (Quinnipiac Poll, 1,582 RV, MoE +/- 2.5%, 5/9-14/12)

• In January 2010, 71 Percent Were “Dissatisfied” With The Way Things Were Going In The State, Compared To Just 28 Percent Who Were Satisfied. (Quinnipiac Poll, 1,175 RV, MoE +/- 2.9%, 1/13-18/10)

There Is “Growing Optimism” Among Business Leaders As 59 Percent Of Garden State CEOs Said They Expect The State’s Economy To Improve Over The Next Year. (New Jersey Business And Industry Association, “Statement of NJBIA President Philip Kirschner Concerning Findings of the C-Suite Survey, Released Today,” Press Release, 5/22/12)

“Members Of The New Jersey Chamber Of Commerce Are More Optimistic About The State's Business Climate Than They Were A Year Ago.”  (New Jersey Chamber Of Commerce, “State Chamber Survey: Members Optimistic About New Jersey's Economy,” Press Release, 5/16/12)

• 55 Percent Of New Jersey Chamber Members Expect The Economy To Improve In The Next Year.

State Treasurer Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff: “By any impartial standard of analysis, New Jersey is enjoying an economic recovery. Our economy is growing.” (State Treasurer Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff, Assembly Budget Committee Hearing, 5/23/12)

Even OLS, the entity Assembly Democrats say they believe with when it comes to revenue projections agrees the New Jersey Comeback has begun. OLS Budget Analyst David Rosen: "Let me be clear, New Jersey is not witnessing a fiscal meltdown …  are continuing to grow, but at a pace which is a good deal more modest than had been anticipated." (Jarrett Renshaw, “Treasurer: Christie administration will close shortfall by borrowing transportation money despite promise,” The Star-Ledger, 5/23/12)