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A4 www.phill3r.com THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER ABCDEFGHI Wednesday, January 18, 2012 Christie outlines his 2012 agenda NATION WORLD Wis. recall supporters file signatures to force election State of the State Highlights E-M Tax cuts: Proposed a 10 percent reduction in income tax rates and restoration of an earned-income tax credit cut two years ago. After years of sacrifice, Gov. Christie said the cuts would let everyone in the state share in a benefit. Democrats said they would disproportionately favor high-income families and could hurt schools.

Christie did not say how he would pay for the cuts. School reform: Made the case again for major changes in public education, resolving to get legislative action in an area where Christie has had many proposals but little legislative success. He called for teacher tenure overhaul, merit pay, and publicly funded scholarships that could send some students to private schools. Urban crime: Proposed changing the system so that offenders with a history of violence could not be freed on bail while awaiting trial on new charges. And repeating another position he's pushed recently, Christie called for mandatory treatment of nonviolent drug offenders rather than sending them to prison.

AP CHRISTIE from Al working poor, the struggling middle class, the new college graduates getting their first job, the senior citizens who have already retired, the single mom, the job creators, the parents trying to afford to send their son or daughter to college." At a news conference immediately after the speech, Democratic leaders roundly rejected the tax cut plan, saying it would benefit millionaires and provide a pittance to everyone else. "$275 for a family making $100,000 a year is not a grocery bill for a family of five," said Louis Greenwald Camden), the Assembly's new majority leader, citing estimates of proposed tax rates. Democrats calculated that a millionaire would save $7,265.75. Christie did not estimate taxpayer savings or say how he would pay for the cuts. Democrats contended the plan would end up costing public schools $1 billion.

On Wednesday, Christie will hit the road to sell his ideas with stops on NBC's Today show, MSNBC's Morning Joe and a 3 p.m. town hall meeting at the Voorhees Town Center. The governor spent much of the speech detailing accomplishments of his two years in office, saying that the unemployment rate had stopped rising and that private sector jobs had increased by 60,000. Using the phrase "the New Jersey comeback," Christie repeatedly returned to a bipartisan theme. "The New Jersey comeback is taking place in large part because of what we have done in this chamber," he said.

"Together, we have done something that Trenton hasn't seen in a very long time. We worked together. We achieved compromises. And we put New Jersey and its people first." Specifically, he referenced legislation passed by lawmakers of both parties that increased the amount of money public workers pay to their health benefits and pensions. With Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver Essex) and all public workers.

Petitioners were also submitting about 305,000 more signatures than were needed to trigger a recall election against Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and said they also exceeded the number needed to force recall elections of four Republican state senators, including Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald. The huge number of signatures against Walker means his supporters would have to successfully challenge about 46 percent of them to stop a recall election, in which Walker would likely run against a yetto-be-decided Democratic challenger. "I don't know if it's insurmountable, but it would be extremely difficult," said Joshua Spivak, a recall expert and senior fellow at Wagner College in New York.

During the recall of California Gov. Gray Davis in 2003, petitioners also turned in almost double what was needed and only about 18 percent were tossed, Spivak said. Wisconsin Democratic Party chairman Mike Tate said that given the number of signatures collected, Walker should not seek delays and instead let the vote proceed. "Does anyone really honestly believe we're not going to have an election?" Tate said. In a statement Tuesday, Walker expressed confidence that he would survive a recall and that voters would reward him for balancing a $3.6 billion budget shortfall without laying off state employees or raising taxes.

"I look forward to talking to the people of Wisconsin about my continued promises to control government spending, balance the budget, and hold the line on taxes," he said. "Instead of going back to the days of billion-dollar budget deficits, double-digit tax increases, and record job loss, I expect Wisconsin voters will stand with me and keep moving Wisconsin forward," Walker said. Republican Party chairman Brad Courtney issued a statement denouncing what he called a baseless and expensive recall. An election is expected to cost at least $9 million. By Scott Batter ASSOCIATED PRESS MADISON, Wis.

Groups seeking to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker submitted nearly twice as many signatures Tuesday as required to force an election, a number that may make a vote later this year inevitable. But Walker's opponents still must transform public outrage over his pushback against unions into actual votes to oust him from office. As petitions were delivered to election officials, Walker was out of state raising money to defend himself and the agenda that has made him a national conservative hero. The one million signatures that United Wisconsin, the coalition that spearheaded the effort along with the Democratic Party, said were collected far exceed the 540,208 needed and amount to 23 percent of the state's eligible voters.

Walker was elected in 2010 as part of a national Republican tide. He quickly angered unions and others with aggressive moves that included effectively ending collective-bargaining rights for nearly Clearing the Record A column Sunday incorrectly stated the number of victims former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky allegedly abused on the Penn State campus. Eight of the 10 victims in the grand jury findings were allegedly abused or were seen being allegedly abused on the university campus. A story Tuesday on New Jersey charter schools incorrectly identified Keith Benson, a volunteer reviewer of charter school applications. His son, also named Keith Benson, is a teacher in Camden.

The Inquirer wants its news report to be fair and correct in every respect, and regrets when it is not. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, contact assistant managing editor David Sullivan (215-854-2357) at The Inquirer, Box 8263, Philadelphia 19101, or e-mail dsullivanphillynews.com. i WheelskoriAnshes.org DONATE share Power of a Corbett aide who edited journal quits YOUR CAR 14gleets For Wishes MICHAEL BRYANT Staff Photographer Gov. Christie leans to give his wife, Mary Pat, a hug after delivering his State of the State address in Trenton. Senate President Stephen Sweeney Gloucester) sitting behind him, Christie referenced the spats he had with each over the summer.

(Oliver called Christie "mentally Sweeney cursed him out in a newspaper interview.) Joking away the disputes, Christie said of his relationship with Democrats: "Now it doesn't mean we didn't shout at each other. It doesn't mean we didn't get angry. You may even recall that even some of my friends had some very colorful nicknames for me." Christie turned around to look at Sweeney, who smiled and shrugged as the audience of lawmakers, lobbyists and political family members applauded. "Today we heard actually a very good speech from the governor," Sweeney said afterward. "That's all it was a speech." Democrats have another set of priorities for the coming year, including an increase in the minimum wage and the legalization of gay marriage.

Christie didn't touch these topics. But there could be some room for agreement in regard to Christie's plan to keep those arrested on violent crimes in jail until their trial. Changing these bail rules to model the federal system might require a constitutional amendment, he said. Christie had promised this programs now administered by DPW to what he described as a woman's ideal role in society: married and at home raising children. For instance, he wrote about research that he said showed that if women wanted to find "Mr.

Right," they should shun birth control pills; and if they wanted to improve their mood, they should not insist that their men wear condoms lest they miss out on beneficial chemicals found in semen. Carey Miller, spokeswoman for DPW, said Patterson submitted his letter of resignation Tuesday. Asked why, she said Patterson had formally requested to remain in his position as the journal's editor while working for the state, but his request had been rejected. She would not say why Welfare Secretary Alexander had hired him, whether Alexander was familiar with his writings, or whether he agreed with Patterson's oft-expressed view that many social welfare programs have worsened the lot of the poor by promoting single motherhood and displacing marriage as a way out of poverty. "It is irrelevant to get into that," Miller said.

But she added: "I can say that the journal does not reflect the views of the Corbett administration." Neither Alexander nor Patterson responded to repeated requests from The Inquirer for interviews. Patterson began writing for The Family in America in 2004 and became its editor in 2009, according to the publication's website. The journal is the flagship publication of the Howard Center for Family, Religion Society in Rockford, which opposes abortion, divorce, and homosexuality and advocates for the "child-rich, married-parent" family. Patterson is also an adjunct research fellow there, according to the center's website. In last year's spring issue of the journal, Patterson coauthored a piece summarizing and reviewing recent studies related to families.

Among them: a recent study suggesting condom use robs a PHILADELPHIA SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY CHAPTER the -Free Vehicle Pickup ANYWHERE We Accew All alleles Running Net A 'We Also Accepl Bocts, Moiorocles, orKi RVs VV I5 Fully Ico Deductlae change during his 2009 gubernatorial campaign as a way to address crime in cities. "We need to reclaim our inner cities," Christie said, as Camden Mayor Dana L. Redd looked on from the front row of the balcony. Christie also wants "mandatory" housing of nonviolent drug offenders in in-house treatment facilities instead of prison. The call for a "second-chance" for nonviolent drug offenders received a standing ovation led by former Gov.

James E. McGreevey, who works with female inmates. McGreevey was among several former governors attending the speech. Christie offered nothing new in the way of education proposals, instead rehashing plans from 2011, which he had dubbed the "year of education reform." Only one measure was signed into law. Christie again proposed changing the system of teacher tenure so teachers get job protections based on merit, not seniority.

And he again pushed the Opportunity Scholarship Act, which would provide tax credits to companies that provide scholarships for students in certain schools to attend alternatives. "I have a message that is not from me, but from the single mom in Newark, the strug woman of "remarkable" chemicals found in semen that have been shown to elevate mood and self-esteem. What's more, the study found that "semen-exposed women" perform better on concentration and cognitive tasks, Patterson reported. He also referenced a 2004 study that suggested birth-control pills weakened a woman's "natural sense of attraction to men who would be a good biological match and enable her to conceive easily and bear healthy children." And should the "pill-popping young lady" go off the pill, she may no longer be attracted to the man she chose when she was on it, the study said. Yet another study Patterson excerpted under the headline "Mom's Employed; Junior's a Couch Potato" suggested that mothers who work may be depriving their children of exercise.

Patterson also quoted research finding that children of single mothers are more likely to be overweight because those women may have less time and energy to make healthy meals and play with their children. "Perhaps it is time for American health officials trying to combat our national epidemic of childhood obesity to look for ways to get mothers back in the home," he wrote. He separately took aim at the effectiveness of day cares and preschool programs. In the journal's summer issue, Patterson authored a piece defending what he called "pay-as-you-go entitlements," such as Social Security, but advocated scaling back assistance programs such as Medicaid, food stamps, the children's health insurance program, and cash assistance for the poor. The programs, he argued, are the legacy of President Lyndon B.

Johnson's "Great Society" and War on Poverty which Patterson argued have produced "more of a quagmire than Vietnam ever was." He said those programs have drained public budgets and gone hand-in-hand with higher levels of broken fami gling parent in Camden, as well as the employers all over our state: education reform real education reform has waited long enough," he said. The state's largest teachers union, the New Jersey Education Association, said it wanted Christie to sit down with its members so it could share research that casts doubt on the efficacy of his proposals. "It's time to abandon bumper-sticker and sound-bite solutions to the complex issues facing public education and to bring everyone together to support proven reforms," NJEA President Barbara Keshishian said in a statement. Democrats mentioned several programs that they want funded, from family planning to prekindergarten, when the governor delivers his budget proposal next month. But they will be hard-pressed to match Christie's ability to command attention.

He previewed his State of the State speech by releasing a You Tube video shot like a movie trailer, complete with dramatic music. Contact staff writer Matt Katz at 609-217-8355, mkatzphillynews.com, or mattkatz00 on Twitter. Read his blog, "Christie Chronicles," at philly.cornichristiechronicles. lies. "As their recipients have never paid into the system, these programs should never be considered 'mandatory entitlements' but rather as discretionary experiments subject to downsizing," he wrote.

He urged policy-makers to consider returning all welfare programs to state control, saying states should be able to develop systems that reward marriage and "recognize a conventional division of labor among married participants." To be sure, Patterson, a onetime speechwriter in President George W. Bush's administration, is hardly alone in advocating a different approach to combating poverty and tackling burgeoning public welfare costs. But defenders of some of the programs he lambasted said his views represent the ideological extreme and stand in contrast to the national push for better education, training, employment, and child care support to release people, particularly women, from the clutches of poverty. They also wondered whether Patterson's hiring signaled an ideological shift at DPW as it embarks on an initiative to cut costs and reduce waste. Sen.

Day lin Leach Montgomery) called Patterson's hiring "an outrage," and said he was relieved to learn he had quit. "I am grateful to the Corbett administration for understanding that someone so extreme has no role in government," Leach said Tuesday. The welfare department has garnered more than its share of headlines since Alexander was recruited by Corbett from a similar post in Rhode Island. Recently, the department has drawn attention by cutting more than 150,000 people, including 43,000 children, from medical assistance, and by pushing to make the amount of food stamps people receive contingent on the assets they possess. Contact staff writer Angela Couloombis at 717-787-5934, acoulournbisphillynews.com or Angelasink on Twitter.

sit 1.855.346.9474 omisH) II 1 VBREAKTHROUGH SERIES i nve 1 ation WHO i ROBERT SMALLS? 111. 1 PATTERSON from Al side job as editor of The Family in America, published by an Illinois-based research center that advocates for the "natural human family established by the Creator." In the journal, Patterson has weighed in on everything from what he called "misguided" programs that grew out of the 1960s War on Poverty Zite rfilattelphia Gregory J. Osberg Publisher and CEO Stan Wisthnowski Editor Robert J. Hall Chief Operating Officer Robert Falcone Chief Financial Officer Guy Holliday Chief Revenue Officer Jerry Steinbrink Chief Brand Officer Michael Kuritzkes General Counsel Michael lorenca SVP Human Resources Jim Gregory SVP Operations Steve Alessi VP Digital Sales Jeffrey Berger VP! Chief Information Officer Mark Block VP External Relations Anthony F. Blithe VP Regional Sales Andy Harrison VP Finance Laura Parker VP Production The Philadelphia Inquirer (USPS 430000) is published daily by Philadelphia Media Network 400 N.

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