“We Don’t Keep Track of Specifics”

Christie Administration all bluster and rhetoric with little factual backup

I don’t have any data, but it seems like the frequency and severity of literally jaw dropping stupidity is increasing. 

Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno

Lt. Governor Guadagno wins the prize for the deepest jaw drop with this quote in Charlie Stiles’ story today: Christie’s bid to lure jobs looks like a bust

Christie’s brief, high-profile sales pitch earlier this year has so far failed to lure aggrieved Land of Lincoln companies into the Garden State.

“It’s too early to tell,” said Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, who oversaw the $294,000 state-financed poaching expedition in her role as secretary of state. “We don’t keep track of specifics.”

Let’s repeat that: “We don’t keep track of specifics.” 

Never mind the arrogant bluster, but how is is possible to spend public money launching a so called economic development campaign, but not have any data or analysis supporting the design of the program, formal goals and objectives, evaluation criteria, or means of monitoring or measuring performance?

That’s incompetence at its worst. 

But in a larger sense, the Guagagno quote perfectly characterizes the MO of the Christie Administration – all rhetoric with no factual or scientific backup.

Which reminds us of DEP Commisssioner’s Martin’s bluster about management “metrics”.

Hey Bob, where are those DEP metrics you promised?

And speaking of management and streamlining DEP, in accordance with your budget testimony last year, perhaps you can quantify the resources the Department “must commit” and the “significant staff time” and “burdens placed on DEP” by the D&R Canal Commission .

While you’re at it, please tell us whether the Commission has “outlived its usefulness“, or “is not performing functions for which it was intended“.

Oh, and please provide just one of the “cost benefit analyses” you repeatedly have claimed to be the basis for all policy and regulatory decisions at DEP.

The rhetoric collapses upon cursory examination.