Christie: As Long as I Get Everything I Want, We Can Compromise on How I Get It

Chris Christie spoke to the New Jersey State Legislature yesterday in a special session he called to address property taxes and offered a "compromise" on taxes to the state legislature. Christie's earlier plan called for a Constitutional Amendment capping tax increases at 2.5% that includes costs of health care and pensions for public workers.

Christie needed to get that passed by July 7 to appear on ballots this fall, which seemed unlikely when Democrats in the state legislature saw the results of similar caps in other states, like California, Colorado and Massachusetts.

The Democrats, for their part, passed a bill on Tuesday morning that would cap tax increases at 2.9%, and allow towns and municipalities flexibility by excluding health care and pensions from the cap. The current law is a 4% cap that excludes health care and pensions. This current cap is working, limiting property tax growth to 3.5% on average in 2008 and 3.3% in 2009.

Yesterday, Christie gave his speech to the legislature and offered his "compromise." Before, he wanted an inflexible 2.5% cap that includes the costs of health care and pensions in the Constitution. He'll now take an inflexible 2.5% cap that includes costs of health care and pensions as a law.

So Christie's compromise means he gets the 2.5% cap he wants, he gets the structure he wants by keeping health care and pensions in the cap, but he'll take it in the form of a law instead of a Constitutional Amendment--an amendment he knew he wasn't going to get anyway.

No one in their right mind would actually think that's a compromise, right? Ehhhh, wrong. The pro-Christie Star-Ledger editorial board (the same one that made its mind up abut what they thought of the largest rally in New Jersey history 7 hours before the rally started) couldn't wait to heap praise on Christie for his "compromise." "It was his finest moment as governor," they swooned. 

Legislative hearings about the 2.5% inflexible cap start in Trenton this morning and are likely to continue through July. Check back regularly to find out how you can get involved in fighting Christie's "compromise."