This is a Cato Special Podcast. I'm Caleb Brown.

Last night the Cato Institute gave the Milton Friedman Prize for advancing liberty to Chinese economist

Mao Ushoe. The keynote speaker for the evening was New Jersey. advancing liberty to Chinese economist Maui Shh.

The keynote speaker for the evening was New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

His message was pretty simple.

Politicians should talk to taxpayers and voters like their adults. This is a portion of his speech

I first took office in January of 2010 in New Jersey

optimism was a hard thing to find and for very good reason. In the eight years before I became governor, our

study raised taxes and fees at the state level 115 times in eight years.

In case you're eating something, let me repeat that.

Taxes and fees 115 times increased in eight years.

In the decade before I became governor from 2000 to 2009,

New Jersey had zero private sector job growth.

Literally, zero.

It was a zero job growth decade in New Jersey. In the years before I became governor,

70 billion dollars in wealth left New Jersey in four years. in 70 billion in departed wealth. Our unemployment rate was over 10% with 155,000 private

sector jobs lost in the four years of my predecessor, John Corzine. You know, you always wonder when you read a

speech what will be the laugh line.

So my staff marked that down that was it.

The highest tax burden in the country with the worst climate for small business

and a bloated state government with the highest number of government workers per square mile in the country.

Yeah, you can laugh unless you live there.

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