With technology companies leaving New Jersey for the greener pastures of states like Texas and Florida, Gov. Chris Christie said New Jersey needs to do more to make itself more attractive to businesses.

(Governor's Office/Tim Larsen)
Governor Chris Christie holds Superstorm Sandy Recovery / Rebuilding Town Hall in Sayreville, N.J. on Thursday, April 3, 2014.
(Governor's Office/Tim Larsen)
Governor Chris Christie holds Superstorm Sandy Recovery / Rebuilding Town Hall in Sayreville, N.J. on Thursday, April 3, 2014.
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Addressing a question he received during a town hall meeting in Sayreville on Thursday, the governor said high taxes and the exorbitant cost of living is causing vital technology industry companies to leave the state.

"You see a lot of those jobs moving because it just costs less for them operate there and it costs less for their employees to live there," Christie said

Christie used the opportunity to push his proposals for tax cuts, something Democrats in the state legislature have been against.

He noted the passage of Economic Opportunity Bills which he called "back door tax cuts," which offered tax incentives for industries to stay in New Jersey. Christie took another stab at Democrats for supporting those bills rather than his cuts, because the Economic Opportunity Bills specified the industries that would receive the benefits rather than "letting the free market decide."

However, Christie said the merger of UMDNJ and Rutgers Medical School sharply increased the amount of federal grant money Rutgers received, raising its rank for 55th to 22nd.

"The more of that money comes here, the more the private industry will partner with the academic community to do the research and clinical trials and create new treatments," Christie said.

The governor said even Camden was in flux of building in the field of "meds and eds."

"A combination of education and improved educational opportunities in Camden, especially surrounding the new medical school that been built there and the expansion of the Cooper University Hospital and all of the businesses that will come along with that," Christie said.

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