The Selling of an Income Tax Cut

For Gov. Chris Christie, the politics of the budget is both an inside game and an outside game, one played inside the Beltway in Trenton and inside the TV studios that reach outside to the national audiences that keep Christie's name at the top of the once and future presidential and vice-presidential preference polls.

And yesterday, one day after a budget speech that echoed with a triumphant Reaganesque "Morning in America" optimism, Christie was hard at work in both political arenas.

Christie's ability to command the national media stage almost like a presidential candidate -- unprecedented for a New Jersey governor -- is a source of frustration for Democratic legislative leaders. Asked a question about Christie's intentions at the Democratic press conference following the budget speech, Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-Essex) quipped, "We'll just have to watch Piers Morgan on CNN tonight to find out."

Christie had taped the CNN prime-time interview show in Trenton the Friday before the budget speech, but the principal issue in the New Jersey budget debate -- whether Christie's income tax cut favors the wealthy and, therefore, whether Democrats are right to demand that he cut property taxes instead -- has been in the public forum since Christie first proposed the 10 percent across-the-board income tax cut during his State of the State speech last month.

Christie got off his best shot not when asked about New Jersey millionaires, but about whether Warren Buffet was right to argue that the rich should pay higher income taxes.

"Well, he should just write a check and shut up, really, and just contribute," Christie shot back "The fact of the matter is, I'm tired of hearing about it. If he wants to give the government more money, he's got the ability to write a check, go ahead and write it."

Christie's Warren Buffett remarks quickly made it to YouTube, and he got a further bounce when the White House responded.

Christie followed up his budget speech and Piers Morgan spot with a live appearance yesterday on ABC's "Good Morning America" with George Stephanopoulos. It was yet another opportunity to reach a broad in-state and national audience in a friendly interview environment with a national host sophisticated about the subtleties of national politics and policy, but not as concerned with the fine points of New Jersey budget politics.

Christie went from Good Morning America's millions of viewers to one of his favorite venues, a town hall meeting, this time in Palisades Park, that would be packed largely with supporters -- but one where he would automatically command coverage from New Jersey's newspapers, radio stations, and TV networks for his message.

Once again, Christie made his case for his income tax cut, arguing that it was fair because all taxpayers would get the same percentage cut in their tax bills -- even if that meant that a family making $50,000 would get only $80, while a millionaire would get back more than $7,000. He conceded that one reason he decided to cut income taxes was because the amount of money he had available for tax cuts wouldn't make a dent in the $25 billion collected each year in property taxes. "The 183 million [first year income tax cut] is a fraction of what they need to get any significant relief in property taxes," Christie said.

Despite his media advantages, Christie is currently losing his fight for a 10 percent income tax cut in the court of New Jersey public opinion. More than 70 percent of New Jerseyans routinely tell pollsters they would rather see Christie and the Democratic-controlled legislature cut property taxes than income taxes. And the narrow majority of 52 percent who said they were in favor of an income tax cut in a recent poll favored it because they thought the average income tax cut would be about $750 -- five times as much as a family making $100,000 would actually receive.

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