Christie Freezes Spending
So far so good. He’s doing exactly what i thought he should do: stop spending and force the folks in the Legislature out in the open to defend all the millions they waste. When you swing the axe the sacred cows get nervous
TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie laid out a series of detailed spending cuts to lawmakers at a special joint session Thursday, including reductions in aid to K-12 schools, colleges, hospitals and New Jersey Transit that kick in starting this month.
Christie cautioned that the cuts will be followed by more difficult decisions for next year’s budget, which he’ll present to lawmakers next month. The cuts he outlined Thursday are intended to resolve a $2.2 billion deficit in the current year’s budget.
Shine the light and watch the roaches squirm!
An executive order Christie signed Thursday morning — which declares a state of fiscal emergency — directs acting Treasurer Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff and acting Attorney General Paula Dow to study “projected costs to the state and local entities associated with previously negotiated employee salary structures” and possibly present “proposed alternatives to achieve necessary cost savings in light of the current fiscal crisis.”
I hope they go beyond “studying” and get to the “cutting” phase fairly quickly, because we simply can’t afford to wait. But judging by how he’s acted so far, and by how pissed off the entrenched interests in Trenton are
Democrats who control the state Legislature were miffed that the Christie administration didn’t detail the budget cuts to them until about an hour before the speech and concerned that Christie is acting unilaterally to address the deficit by executive order.
I am getting more and more hopeful that we’ve finally got a Governor who will cut our government back to size.
Let’s see.
Nanny State, People, Politics | Mr. Bingley | 
February 12, 2010 7:03 am
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Well, Christie is simply doing what he promised to do in his campaign. Now the test is weather the people of NJ will buck up and live with the fall-out in order to fix a bankrupt state left by Corzie, the ex-chairman of Goldman Sachs. (Go figure) Its one thing to support a candidate who promises to fix things, but if he actually does what he says, they must realize that there are consequences that go along with the resolve.
That will be the test, Syd, indeed.
The Star-Ledger account started: “Governor Christie seized control of the budget…”
Yup. He seized it. Napoleon in a double-breasted suit. Democrats were “seething,” the story said, which is the part I think is probably accurate.
I hope Gov. Christie is mindful of his own security. I hate to have such thoughts, but when I read that he suggested to the Transit management that they go back and renegotiate their ridiculous labor contract with the union,…..
I agree with Syd B. The folks in NJ voted for this. Let’s see how they hold up when the media starts showing all the starving chikldren suffering because of Christie’s “draconian” cuts.
OK, gov, the first things you cut directly benefit we poor slobs who pay the bills. Now where’s the hit list of the hundreds of hacks Corzine stashed in gummint jobs?
Yes, cuts are needed. But the ones who’ll suffer the most didn’t get us into this mess. The political mafia families that run this state did, and they’re untouched.
Freezing spending is good. Cutting waste is better. But Christie’s blowing a unique opportunity when he leaves the gigantic patronage mill alone.
How about auditing school funding and construction? Why nothing about cutting business and employment taxes to put people to work? Where’s the plan to let non-union companies compete for state conracts?
I’ll buy his “crisis” when he gets rid of the people and policies that caused it. Until then, Christie’s dramatics are just more of the same old push-down that squeezes residents and leaves the culprits unscathed.