N.J. Shrugs Off Swan Barb as Australia Election Silliness

New Jersey officials hit back at Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan for his depiction of their state as a down-trodden place where workers get “thrown on the scrap heap of life.”

“Apparently, the electoral ‘silly season’ is not a uniquely American phenomenon,” Tom Kean, the top Republican in the state legislature, said in an e-mail. Swan gave a speech yesterday in Melbourne, calling Bruce Springsteen his hero and the state’s struggles the singer’s muse. Given that New Jersey outpaced Australia in job creation in recent months, “I’m not terribly certain why anyone here would care what Mr. Swan has to say,” he said.