What They're Saying About…
Governor Christie's "Ambitious Plan" To Address Entitlements
Governor Christie Is Starting "A Long-Overdue Conversation … Offering Real Specifics - Not Just Platitudes - For How To Fix The Programs"
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Fix The Debt President Maya MacGuineas: “This is a long-overdue conversation about how to address the challenges facing our entitlement programs. Good for Governor Christie for getting this discussion started. He should be praised for his leadership on the issue and for his courage in offering real specifics - not just platitudes - for how to fix the programs.”
● “Governor Christie’s plan would dramatically improve the solvency of Social Security, slow the growth in the Medicaid program, begin to improve Medicare’s financing, strengthen many aspects of the Social Security Disability Insurance program, and likely promote work and economic growth.” (Maya MacGuineas, Fix The Debt, “Fix the Debt Statement on Gov. Christie's Speech on Entitlement Reform,” Press Release, 4/14/15)
● “What Christie is doing is huge … This is certainly farther than anyone has gone about being specific about hard choices.”
CBS News: “New Jersey Governor Chris Christie … is apparently ready to tackle one of the government's biggest problems. He went to New Hampshire Tuesday to unveil his national plan to reform entitlement spending.” (Ellen Uchimiya, “Chris Christie Unveils National Entitlement Reform Plan,” CBS News, 4/14/15)
● “Christie, true to his word, has an ambitious plan to change Medicare and Medicaid. He would also restructure Social Security, changing it from an entitlement to what would effectively be an insurance policy.”
The Washington Post’s WonkBlog: “The governor proposed less generous Social Security benefits for a broad swathe of affluent American retirees on Tuesday, placing a firm hand on the proverbial ‘third rail of politics’ and waiting to be electrocuted. Nothing much has happened to him yet.” (Max Ehrenfreund, “Christie’s explosive proposal to limit Social Security benefits,” The Washington Post’s Wonkblog, 4/15/15)
● Christie “does make a persuasive pitch.”
WNYC: “Christie began his day with a detailed, statistics-focused policy address about entitlement reform at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics.” (Matt Katz, “Chris Christie Went To New Hampshire and Talked About EVERYTHING,” WNYC, 4/15/15)
CATO Institute’s Michael Tanner: "No one has been willing to get very specific about it, and this [Christie's proposal] might force them to do that." (Ellen Uchimiya, “Chris Christie Unveils National Entitlement Reform Plan,” CBS News, 4/14/15)
New Hampshire One News: “Chris Christie kicked off a two day swing to New Hampshire with a sober prescription for tackling escalating entitlement spending.” (Paul Steinhauser, “Chris Christie Kicks Off His Comeback Tour In N.H., Going All-In On Entitlement Reform,” New Hampshire One News, 4/14/15)
Reuters: “Some in the crowd agreed with Christie that reforms were needed. ‘I thought it sounded very pragmatic and realistic in a lot of ways,’ said Tom Murphy, a 63-year-old self-employed graphic designer from Manchester.” (Luciana Lopez And Scott Malone, “Presidential hopeful Christie risks backlash with retiree policy,” Reuters, 4/14/15)
● “Jim Headd, a 74-year-old former Republican state representative from Auburn, said a gradual change in the age of Social Security eligibility appealed to him. ‘It seems very logical to me, better than the shock treatment,’ Headd said.”
NBC News: “Chris Christie Sells 'Hard Truths' On Social Security Reform” (Andrew Rafferty, “Chris Christie Sells 'Hard Truths' on Social Security Reform,” NBC News, 4/14/15)
The Bergen Record: “The governor is talking about real issues and his vision for the federal government; that is not insignificant.” (Editorial, “Christie's big speech,” The Record, 4/15/15)
● “Christie took shots at President Obama for putting the country on a ‘perilous course’ and he railed against Congress for not taking steps to address the “unrestrained growth of government spending on entitlements.” (Melissa Hayes, “Christie makes rounds in New Hampshire,” The Record, 4/14/15)
The Washington Times: “New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Tuesday that Social Security benefits must be curtailed in order to preserve the program for future generations, wading into a tricky political issue at the heart of the debate over federal spending and debt.” (Seth McLaughlin, Christie offers familiar fixes to preserve Social Security,” The Washington Times, 4/14/15)
The Boston Globe: “[N]ew Jersey Governor Chris Christie rolled out an entitlement restructuring blueprint Tuesday that he said would save more than $1 trillion over 10 years.” (Jim O’Sullivan, “Leaders ‘not telling the truth’ on entitlements, Christie says,” The Boston Globe, 4/15/15)
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