Christie repeats view on minimum wage debate

Gov. Christie on Thursday stood by comments earlier this week - criticized by Democrats - that he was "tired" of efforts to raise the minimum wage.

"I'm going to be very clear, and I'll say it again: I do not think parents in this country are sitting around the kitchen table saying to themselves that their lives would be better if their children could only make a higher minimum wage," Christie told reporters during a campaign stop with Republican congressional candidate Tom MacArthur at Mastoris Diner in Bordentown.

MacArthur is running against Democrat Aimee Belgard to replace retiring Republican Rep. Jon Runyan in the Third District. The election is Nov. 4.

"I think parents have much greater aspirations for their children than that," Christie said.

Democrats, who control the White House and Senate, have pushed to raise the federal minimum wage because, Christie said, "they have not had the kind of growth in this country we should be having in terms of wages, better jobs."

Christie, a Republican who is considering running for president in 2016, accused President Obama of having an "absolutely myopic focus on this issue from an economic perspective."

"What we should be talking about is not an income-inequality problem but an opportunity-inequality problem," Christie said. "People want greater opportunity in this country and better-paying jobs, and the president wants to focus, because he's a class warrior, what he wants to focus on is the minimum wage."

Christie made his initial remarks Tuesday at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event in Washington.

Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez said Christie had his "head in the sand if he's getting tired about the minimum wage," according to Bloomberg News.

The Democratic National Committee also pounced on the governor's remarks.

Obama has called on Congress to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10. New Jersey voters in 2013 approved a constitutional amendment increasing the minimum wage by $1 to $8.25 and tying it to future inflation.

Christie also addressed confusion over other comments he made this week, when he said it was important for Republicans to win gubernatorial races in November's elections so that the party can control "voting mechanisms" in 2016.

He said he was not referring to the polarizing issue of voter ID laws, which some Republicans say can root out voter fraud. Democrats say such laws suppress minority turnout.

Christie has not said whether he supports such laws, which have passed in 34 states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. No document is required to vote in New Jersey. Pennsylvania enacted a strict voter ID law in 2012 but it has not taken effect because of a court battle.

"Everybody read much too much into that comment," Christie said Thursday.

He added, "Who's going to be the person in charge of the state when those votes are being counted? I'd much rather have it be Republican governors than Democratic governors."

Earlier Thursday, Christie stopped in Toms River, where he held a news conference inside a fire station to tout progress in the state's recovery from Hurricane Sandy.

With next week marking the two-year anniversary of the storm, Christie acknowledged challenges with the rebuilding effort - "I completely understand this has been frustrating" - but said there had been improvements.

Christie said 4,400 homeowners have signed grant award agreements with the state's main housing assistance program for a total of $520 million in federal money obligated by the state. As of June 30, 3,150 homeowners had signed grant agreements, for a total of $358 million, according to a state report.

The housing program, run by contractors hired by the state, has been criticized by residents as slow and error-prone. Christie said Thursday that the state had made changes to the program.

State Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester) criticized the governor's emphasis on the amount of money obligated, rather than distributed, to homeowners.

"There is an extremely big difference between being in the pipeline and being in your home," Sweeney said in a statement.