''GIVE me a break,'' was the pithy reaction from the office of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to comments from Treasurer Wayne Swan about the woes of the US state.

''I'd like to know if he has any knowledge of New Jersey beyond what he's heard in a Bruce Springsteen song,'' the Governor's spokesman said.

Other top New Jersey Republicans also fired back at Mr Swan after the Treasurer said that if he could distil the relevance of Springsteen's music to the country, it would be: ''Don't let Australia become a down-under version of New Jersey.''

Mr Swan described New Jersey as a place ''where the people and the communities whose skills are no longer in demand get thrown on the scrap heap of life.''