Christie Assesses “Limited Options”

By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog

Citing factors including the pension indiscretions of his predecessors and, in a moment of candor, his own government’s economists’ overly-optimistic assessment of the effect of federal tax changes, Save Jerseyans, Governor Chris Christie told CBS News’ Bob Schieffer at the Peter G. Peterson Foundation’s Fiscal Summit in Washington on Wednesday that time is running out for our state not just to plug an $800 million budget gap but to save New Jersey as a general matter.

Pretty much…

When is a plan forthcoming? “Next week,” so says the Governor, but he promised that it would not include new tax increase proposals: 

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uxhotd7HWi4

Matt Rooney
About Matt Rooney 8404 Articles
MATT ROONEY is SaveJersey.com's founder and editor-in-chief, a practicing New Jersey attorney, and the host of 'The Matt Rooney Show' on 1210 WPHT every Sunday evening from 7-10PM EST.

4 Comments

  1. As we begin his second term, his kicking the can down the road for the past several years has raised the ire of the teachers, cops, corrections officers, and others – they won’t buy his bullshit, again. He has no plan to fill the gap, while his administration continues to slop the pension pig appointee/hack-welfare programs built into our present system.

    Demanding restoration of the pillaged funds as a condition of any new budget would have been the solution – but that would mean actually doing what he promised those union workers.

    Amazing how someone can be a municipal court judge for 18 years at 24k a year in a small town, then, because of political connections, garner a no-show or low-show job as “counsel to MVS” or some other such nonsense at 175K a year, so that they cha-ching over 100k a year in pension at retirement – while the matching funds aren’t covered that were guaranteed under contract to the cops, cwa, firefighters, teachers, and corrections officers – and their own dollars contributed into the system were “re-directed” elsewhere, “temporarily”. NOW, to give the appearance that the fund is being replaced, you want another 3% of the teachers’ take-home pay as a mandatory contribution/payroll deduction, which you will no doubt ‘re-direct’, as well – while you work with charters to dismantle the union and the public schools on the “Norcross plantation” in South Jersey.

    I call “bullshit”.

    In the private sector, when you embezzle pension funds, you go to jail. Apparently, in the service of the public as an elected official, when you do that, it qualifies you for higher office.

    Let the Christie apologists chime in now, saying he didn’t create the problem. That’s true, but a bit disingenuous.

    To solve that problem requires the political will to do what’s right – right for the people who his OFFICE serves – not for the puppet-masters.

    I’m saddened, Chris Christie – to use your own words. Saddened.

    This doesn’t even address the election fraud exposed in “LaVergne v Lonegan”…which is far from over, as we prevailed in that action, but the Judge offered no remedy to the corruption issues in the election process.

    Watch real sources of news over the coming months. That battle is joined, whether Norcross and his Philadelphia Inquirer let you read about it or not.

    “WHERE’S THE MONEY, CHRISTIE?”

  2. His options are limited only by “Political Will”. In this case, more than likely, it will be “Political Won’t”.

    “Saddened”…

    yeah, right.

  3. I find it amusing that the very people that have returned the same old legislators to Trenton for YEARS now hold the governor responsible for fixing all the ills of the past in 4. Every committee in the senate is chaired by democrats. I don’t even know how long Trenton has been run by the very crew that’s standing in the way of the governor’s attempts to fix the problem.

    Listen to what he’s saying. Did you realize Christie has made more payments in his first four years than were made in the last 10?

    Why is it so hard for this bunch in Trenton to stop spending more??
    Why is every solution from this crowd to take more taxes?

    New Jersey voters are fed up. Even democrats that hate Christie vote for him because they know what he is trying to do is necessary. You want to solve the problem? Give the governor the political muscle to get his budget through the senate and house by voting republican. Can’t stomach voting for a republican? OK, vote against a democrat. Vote for term limits.

    You ask “where’s the money Christie?”…you should be asking “where’s the money Sweeney?…Sarlo?…Greenwald?”

  4. I am no Democrat…and you are actually quite correct…and the Camden Schools jump-rope actually goes “Where’s the money, JOE ? Where’s the money, PAY-MON? Where’s the money GEORGE**? Where’s the money, Christie….” It would be cute if it didn’t represent such a tragic misappropriation of public dollars for private enterprise – directly out of the classrooms, to boot.

    We don’t need to assess new taxes to fix the pension debacle. Watch in July for NJPensionpigs….By de-funding the political rewards to non-contract employees, or capping those funds as an obligation, the DIFFERENCE in the existing budget can be applied to paying back what Christie and his predecessors “borrowed”. Our Organization will show you how to do it with the stroke of a pen.

    Not sure what I’m referring to? Ask a cop – or a teacher – or a prison guard – or a union office worker in State Government (CWA). They’ll be more than happy to bring you up to speed. They know what’s coming…or soon will.

    The issue was inherited by Christie, but he garnered the support of these same folks with the promise of fixing it – instead, he has made the situation WORSE, if that were possible, by yet another 3% increase…

    If someone came and took all the principal out of your retirement fund and left you an IOU, then started taking money out of your pay envelope every week, you might be troubled by that.

    They are. So are we…(in fact, We includes some of THEY). Thanks for adding two new names to the song – Sweeney’s already in there.

    ** Norcross/Gilmore – you pick ’em

    Watch what’s coming after the primary. I think you’ll like it.

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