“I’m proud that we did the things that needed to be done,” added Mr. Sweeney, a Democrat from Gloucester County who helped the governor secure the property tax cap and changes in public employee benefits. “But we’re not going to bankrupt the state for a select few.”

While the tax cut would save $7,266 a year for someone earning $1 million, the Democrats said, it would save just $275 for someone earning $100,000 — “not a grocery bill for a family of five,” said Louis D. Greenwald, Democrat of Camden County and the majority leader in the Assembly.

Democratic leaders said they agreed with Mr. Christie that New Jersey had one of the highest tax burdens in the nation. But they said they feared a repeat of what happened during the administration of Gov. Christie Whitman, a Republican, when Democrats cooperated to cut taxes by 30 percent but the resulting decline in revenue prompted severe budget cuts.

The Assembly speaker, Sheila Y. Oliver, praised the governor for promoting the restoration of the earned income tax credit. But, Ms. Oliver, Democrat of Essex County, said, “He can’t bring it back in exchange for a 10 percent income tax cut across the board.”

Instead, Democrats vowed to continue their push for a so-called millionaires’ tax on the highest-earning residents, another move Mr. Christie has rejected.

Mr. Christie’s office said his proposal would phase in the cut over three years beginning in 2013.

In his speech, the governor made it clear that he would continue his fight with the teachers’ unions over the way schools were run and financed. He proposed giving tenure to teachers who received strong evaluations and taking it away from those who got low ratings. He argued to end the system of “last in, first out” layoffs, done on the basis of seniority rather than merit, and to pay more to teachers who worked in failing schools or taught “a difficult subject.”

Mr. Christie urged the Legislature to expand the number of charter schools and to enact tax credits for companies that provided scholarships to students who wanted to attend private schools.

Having made his attempt to, as Ms. Oliver said, “charm the Legislature” in his speech, Mr. Christie signaled that he was still interested in shaping a national image. He was scheduled to begin Wednesday with two appearances on national television: on the “Today” show and on “Morning Joe.”