Yesterday the Democrats passed a budget based on fantasy math and circumstances. They restored millions of dollars in wasteful funding to programs that do not require them, all in an attempt to save face since they had their political rear-ends handed to them in the negotiations for pension and benefit reform. Eager to ensure that Christie and the GOP are not handed another consecutive victory, the Democrats have decided to play politics with your money. I understand both sides do this, Save Jerseyans, but when the GOP plays with your money, they are usually trying to spend less of it, not more!
This budget was verbally beaten to death by the Republicans today. I have never received so many press releases in a span of ten minutes. The general theme coming from the Assembly GOP office is that the budget is a disaster that relies on unrealistic budget projections that are not certified by the Treasury. The big word being thrown around is ‘unconstitutional,’ and that could not be more appropriate.
Our state government has a responsibility every year to pass a balanced budget, and if that means stripping bloated programs then that is what needs to happen. You simply cannot go back and add $1.2 billion because your party leadership understood the importance of pension reform. It just does not work that way. They are making a bet, on your dime, that more of your money will come in than expected. Thats not balanced. Its insane. Its a ‘posterity be damned’ mentality that should not be accepted any more.
The Governor issued a statement after the passage,
“The Democratic budget passed today by the Senate and the Assembly is unconstitutional in its present form based on hundreds of millions of dollars in spending that is unsupported by constitutionally certified revenue. There is a lot for the Governor to study and review in order to make a determination as to whether the budget can be fixed and brought into balance to fulfill the state’s constitutional obligation. At this time, the Governor can’t be certain if the remedy is the line item veto or whether he needs to consider sending it back to the Legislature.”
Governor Christie needs to make himself clear. There should be no deliberation, and there is no reason to analyze anything, the Democrat’s press releases tell you everything you need to know: this budget is unconstitutional, and they are proud of it! This joke of a budget deserves nothing more than an immediate veto. Send it back from whence it came. The Democrats need to know that the game is over, they cannot play with our money any longer.
