Governor Christie: Day of Reckoning

Governor Chris Christie gives remarks about accountability while at a Town Hall Meeting in Perth Amboy, N.J. on Tuesday, June 15, 2010. (transcript below)

Governor Christie: One of the things that these difficult, trying times are bringing into focus for all of us, as citizens, as elected officials, that accountability is important now more than ever, and your point that, you know, when we appoint people, and I appoint lots of people, by the time I get done with four years I'll probably appoint thousands of people to different things, boards and commissions and authorities around the state and members of my cabinet, judges, a lot of people that I'm going to be responsible for that are going to have my name next to them, for better or for worse, for the rest of my life. I understand about accountability, and I think you're absolutely right. I think one of the things that these times have brought into great focus for us is that we have to hold each other accountable. You know, all of us understand, we were taught by our parents I suspect, that you don't get something for nothing in this world, ever. Yet government has tried to sell you over the course of time this idea that we—I'm not going to give you something for nothing, but we're going to give you something, and someone else is going to pay for it. So it's not for nothing but it's for nothing to you. What has happened in our state and in our country over the last couple of years is that those chickens have come home to roost, and we now have a situation where we are in a deep hole, and we've got two choices: we can continue to do what we've always been doing before, and I don't think we should, because that's crazy. That's what got us here. But the new path and the bolder path is a path that will be lined with resistance from those who are benefiting from the current system, and they will attempt to scare you. They'll attempt to scare you about change, and they'll attempt to tell you that your ox is the one that's going to get gored. The same people who were telling you you can get something and someone else will pay for it are now going to tell you watch out, because when change comes they're going to take it away from you. We all know that it's being taken away from us as we speak. Our standard of living, our way of life is being challenged by an economy where we have too much debt, too big a government, too much spending, and taxes being too high. We all know it in our hearts. Depending upon where we are in the political spectrum we may want to admit it more or less, but we all know it. We all know it to be true, and I kind of want to end today where I started with Mayor Diaz. Now we may come at certain issues from different perspectives. But we all understand, she and I understand, that the day of reckoning is here. Whether you're a Republican, whether you're a Democrat, whether you're an independent, whether you're rich or whether you're poor, whether you're retired or still working, or if you're a young child who's trying to think about what is New Jersey and America going to be like for me...

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