"New Jersey must grow its economy, not its government."
This is Republican Gov. Chris Christie's keynote message as he addressed leaders in the industry during the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce's annual congressional dinner last Thursday.
He mentioned that the state has many opportunities to be more business friendly. This is the step the state needs to take in order to deal with "structural problems" which includes discretionary spending and business taxes.
"We need to continue, in my view, to shrink the public sector in the state so that it gives the room for our private sector to grow even more by making government less expensive," said Christie.
Christie, 52, was elected New Jersey governor in 2009. He was then re-elected in 2013. Before being elected, he served as a U.S. attorney for New Jersey.
Christie is also a potential Republican presidential candidate. Polls have him hovering in the fourth place in the states of Iowa and New Hampshire.
However, being a potential presidential candidate doesn't mean fewer critics. He is currently facing critics eyeing him for not being able to address fiscal problems of his home state. His critics are also eyeing him about his possible presidential platform if he's elected president.
In a speech given in New Hampshire, Christie mentioned that if he was given a chance to run for president and he wins, he would simplify the country's tax system and pass policies for the expansion of America's energy independence. More critics raised their eyebrows with his statement as they pointed out that Christie was not able to do both in New Jersey.
"I find it fascinating that his first 100 days as president, he'd redo the tax structure in the nation, when he's had almost six years in New Jersey and he has done nothing to restructure a broken tax structure in New Jersey," said Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald.
Despite that, there are still analysts that believe Christie is a viable candidate amidst these criticisms. Peter Woolley, a political science professor from Fairleigh Dickinson commented: "In American politics, people are reborn all the time, and success often follows defeat. So, yes, I think Christie can do it."
In his Chamber of Commerce speech, Christie reported of increased private sector jobs since he became governor.
