Reason #437 Why Chris Christie Will Never Be President

[Sue U]

New Jersey one of three states with increase in poverty last year, Census reports

By Carla Astudillo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

New Jersey was one of three states that saw both a jump in the number of people living in poverty and the poverty rate in 2013, according to new Census numbers.

The data released on Thursday shows that while the poverty rates in most states has plateaued, New Jersey's poverty rate actually went up from 10.8 percent in 2012 to 11.4 percent in 2013.

The other two states that posted an increase were New Mexico and Washington.

The announcement comes two days after the Census released a separate report stating that the nationwide poverty rate declined slightly for the first time since 2006.

"It was a surprise to us, and a bit disturbing", said Melville D. Miller president of Legal Services of New Jersey, who had predicted that the new Census numbers for New Jersey would either remain stagnant or decrease slightly because of decreasing unemployment rates.

Miller said the increase could be due to the fact that even previously unemployed people who have found work may still may remain at the poverty level.

"I resist making any sweeping generalizations," he added. But, when combined with some of the other economic trends that he said he has observed such as declining wages, the new data is "worrisome."

The actual number of people living in poverty increased from 934,943 in 2012 to 998,549 in 2013.

There were plenty of signs that poverty rate would increase, including an increase in food stamp participants and a spike in foreclosure rates, said Raymond Castro from New Jersey Policy Perspective.

"It may seem that the national economy is improving. Wall Street and
major corporations are certainly doing better," said Castro. "But, that's just not trickling down to many New Jerseyans."

Even as New Jersey's poverty rate continue to increase, it still remains still well below the national average of 15.8 percent.

The Census also included county numbers which show Cumberland had the highest poverty rate in New Jersey at 20.6%, followed by Hudson (19.7%) and Salem counties (18.4%)

Mirroring the statewide trend, most counties also saw an increase in the number of people living in poverty and the poverty rate.

However, Stephanie Hoopes Halpin, Assistant Research Professor at Rutgers, said that even though Census county data tends to be pretty accurate with a reasonable margin of error, the numbers still need to be put into context, especially in counties with small populations such as Salem and Warren.

"I wouldn't take them as absolute numbers," Hoopes Halpin said. "But that
it's an indicator that there's something worth of investigating."

In addition, she added, the higher poverty rates in Atlantic and Cape May counties may be due to residents still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Sandy.

Hoopes Halpin also questioned the rates in light of how the government measures poverty across the country. The federal government uses the same benchmarks, developed more than 50 years ago, to measure poverty in every state. The cost of living is not only higher in New Jersey, but it also varies widely among New Jersey's counties.

The actual number of people living in poverty in New Jersey, therefore, is likely higher than the Census reflects, said Hoopes Halpin. In a study conducted for Rutgers
and United Way, Hoopes Halpin said she took into account the varied cost
of living expenses and showed that 38 percent of New Jersey households are
struggling to meet basic needs.

"It's so frustrating to have this archaic number used in the Census," she said. "I worry that it hides a lot of hardship."

2013 Poverty Rates in New Jersey
Atlantic County- 18%
Bergen County- 8.2%
Burlington County- 5.7%
Camden County- 15%
Cape May County- 9.4%
Cumberland County- 20.6%
Essex County- 17.8%
Gloucester County- 9.8%
Hudson County- 19.7%
Hunterdon County- 3.3%
Mercer County- 11.8%
Middlesex County- 9.5%
Monmouth County- 7.7%
Morris County- 4.3%
Ocean County- 10.2%
Passaic County-16.6%
Salem County- 18.4%
Somerset County- 5.3%
Sussex County- 5.8%
Union County- 11.5%
Warren County- 9.3%

Source

[rubato]

But you'd like to see him run wouldn't you? I know I would.


yrs,
rubato

[Big RR]

Be careful what you wish for; I thought that of W in his first election and he won, or at least tied. While I wouldn't mind a Christie campaign, I'd hate a Christie presidency (th only good thing is he wouldn't be the NJ governor anymore).

[Sue U]

A Christie presidential campaign would be good for Comedy, but the 2012 GOP Laff-A-Thon will be hard act to top.

[Big RR]

It's always funnier when it doesn't blow up in your face, like in 2000.

[liberty]

No the real reason he will not be president is that he is fat. There is a rule, no lard buckets allowed. Everyone knows that appearance is the best indicator of ability. No ugly people either, keep them in the back where they can’t be seen. (sarcasm)

[Big RR]

Ever see a picture of Taft? He got stuck in the white house bath tub and had to have a plus size one installed; yet he was the only president to also serve as chief justice of the supreme court as I recall.

Of course, he may not have been one of the best presidents either, so you may be right.

[Sue U]

It's always funnier when it doesn't blow up in your face, like in 2000.

In politics, as in comedy, sometimes you bomb, and sometimes you really bomb.

[BoSoxGal]

I like this comment from that first video:

The more I learn about Reagan, and the older I get, I realize that he was dangerous . . . I'm sorry I voted for him twice, but I was younger, and asleep.

Too bad we can't bring LJ around to the same opinion.

[liberty]

How was Reagan dangerous?

[Gob]

If he fell on you, you could hurt your back.

[Lord Jim]

I like this comment from that first video:

The more I learn about Reagan, and the older I get, I realize that he was dangerous . . . I'm sorry I voted for him twice, but I was younger, and asleep.

Too bad we can't bring LJ around to the same opinion.

I'd love to be able to oblige you BSG, but unfortunately that would require a full frontal lobotomy...

[rubato]

You know, if Christie got his feet going at exactly the right pace he could set up standing waves around his personal equator. We could use video of him to teach schoolchildren about the tides!





yrs,
rubato

[Joe Guy]

A headline I recently read said Chris Christie had dropped 85 pounds.

I thought to myself - I'm not surprised. Food trays weren't made to hold that much weight....

[Lord Jim]

Okay, I waited a few days, just to give everyone a fair chance...(even though I knew it wasn't going to happen)

You know, if Christie got his feet going at exactly the right pace he could set up standing waves around his personal equator. We could use video of him to teach schoolchildren about the tides!





yrs,
rubato

Why haven't there been any outraged, indignant, "fat shaming" complaints in response to this post?

If the same comment had been made about a prominent female politician, (particularly a Democratic female politician) there surely would have been...

Looks to me like the outrage on this topic is kinda selective...(and might I add, sexist...)

[Joe Guy]

Thank you Jim for the opportunity to comment on this subject.

That was an insensitive and very hurtful comment directed at Chris Christie by rubato. Saying that Christie has his own personal equator is outrageous and reveals a lot about the commenter.

He is just fine trashing someone that is very unlikely to read what he wrote but he is sensitive when others do respond to one of his insults.

It proves that Mrs rubato most certainly has a big ass... for a husband....

[rubato]

FAT Chris Christie was a disgusting blob of self-gratifying 350lbs of protoplasm who advertised to the world his own disgusting self-indulgence. "thin" Chris Christie (still morbidly obese) is that same person hoping that his transformation will earn him even more self-indulgence in the future.


I haven't seen any 350lb female democratic politicians running for national office. Have you? If they did, I would tell them the same thing. "You have a personal medical crisis which you need to address before you can expect voters to support you. If you cannot regulate your own behavior enough to stay alive we cannot trust you to run anything."


Only stupid people cannot figure it out. As you can see.


yrs,
rubato

[liberty]

I wouldn't care if a man or a woman for that matter where the size of Java the hut and had to be moved around on a barge; if he could fix our problems I would vote for him. Hell I would even settle for trying to fix our problems.

[Sue U]

I wouldn't care if a man or a woman for that matter where the size of Java the hut and had to be moved around on a barge; if he could fix our problems I would vote for him. Hell I would even settle for trying to fix our problems.

That wouldn't be Chris Christie either.

There's no need to make Chris Christie fat jokes, it's juvenile and stupid and irrelevant. Christie knows he's fat, he knows it's a health problem, and God bless him he really is trying to do something about it. There are a thousand reasons to not want Chris Christie to be President, and his weight isn't even one of them.

[Guinevere]

There's no need to make Chris Christie fat jokes, it's juvenile and stupid and irrelevant. Christie knows he's fat, he knows it's a health problem, and God bless him he really is trying to do something about it. There are a thousand reasons to not want Chris Christie to be President, and his weight isn't even one of them.

Exactly.

Cut the fat shaming. It's stupid and it says more about the shamers than the target.