Governor Christie on Tuesday told a teacher to find another job if she didn't think she was paid enough, and warned even those who agreed with his budget cuts to prepare for a tough battle.
Christie visited a church gymnasium in Rutherford on Tuesday to press his plan to overhaul civil service, reform public employee pensions and put a constitutional cap on the growth of property taxes. Christie's pitch came as a new poll showed the governor's unpopularity shooting up in recent weeks, especially in public employee households.
Taking questions from the audience, Christie said an 89-year-old former mayor would have to do without a rebate this year and told a concerned parent that cuts to services are unavoidable because "we are out of money."
Christie said state leaders failed for three decades to control New Jersey's surging property taxes, and that the solution is to give voters the power to reject any local effort to raise the tax levy by more than 2.5 percent a year.
"What it's going to do is impose discipline on every level of government," Christie said.
The midday crowd was generally supportive. Clara Nebot of Bergenfield told Christie he is "a god" to her relatives in Florida, and he replied by saying that maybe