Legislators Who Meet The Folks They Represent
I just got back from a public meeting with some fine folks: State Senator Jennifer Beck, Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande and Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon. No bullshit. Plain, honest talk about the raw painful facts.
They met with us here in town, at the offices of the Bayshore Tea Party, to talk about spreading the word on the scary, almost unfathomable numbers we face here in NJ: the Public Pension system currently has an unfunded liability of $46 Billion dollars, and at its current pace that number will grow to $183 billion by 2041. Just for NJ. And that’s based on an assumed rate of return on the invested money they have now of 7.5% (I’m sure all of you, Dear Readers, via your savvy Mad Investment Skillz are doing far better than that, right?). The numbers are staggering, and obviously untenable.
Oh, and did I forget to mention that the unfunded Public Employee Healthcare Liability in NJ is currently $66.8 billion?
Silly me; in all this excitement it must have slipped my mind.
Folks, whatever state you live in, these numbers are serious, they deserve serious attention, and deep, serious cuts must be made or we are, well, totally screwed. There’s simply no way around it. Every election, every decision by your local town committee or school board, they all matter greatly.
You need to be there, demanding the numbers and honest appraisals of how these things are going to be dealt with. There’s no more time.
There’s no more money.
Nanny State, People, Politics | Mr. Bingley | 
January 25, 2011 9:48 pm
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One of our state reps spoke to a TEA Party meeting about the fiscal condition of Washington, and the bottom line was: We. Suck.
I forget the figures, but not quite as bad as NJ, but not much better either.
She was quite amused that, after years of ignoring told by the fiscal conservatives that we can’t spend money we don’t have, Governor Gregoire was starting to “talk like a Republican”.
Not that anyone believes that crap, of course. Gregoire is a hardcore leftie, no doubt about. But stupid she ain’t; after the November Trouncing, she’ll rein in the spending.
Somewhat. For now. Which is why we can’t rest.
Those figures are awful yet typical while We the People have condoned irresponsible financial management in our federal, state and local government for decades. It looks to me like the issue of fiscal conservatism is transcending party politics to become an issue of national security.
I would reccomend the letter which the outgoing Chief Secretary to the Treasury left in his desk for the newly-elected replacement.
For the very first time, a Socialist politician told the exact truth about the economy his Party had helped crucify over the preceeding thirteen years; when he wrote, “Dear Chief Secretary, I’m afraid to tell you there’s no money left”
.
The worst of it is the Democrats in Trenton have learned exactly zero from all this. I’m hearing about spending ideas that make me want to hire shrinks for these people. Did you know they want to tax rain to help pay for it?
Deep trouble doesn’t begin to describe the situation. I know Beck and Declan. They’ve been saying the same thing for years. Trouble is, they’re whistling in the dark.
Good luck getting anything done. As long as the public sector unions control the politicians and the rest of the entitlement bunch continue to get theirs it’ll have to implode before it can be fixed. In short, we’re fucked.
It will stop when some of these people start going to jail. I remember a time when private corporations were taken to the woodshed and had their bodies greatly distorted(the new civility) because of their gaudy growth assumptions.
One of the big pushes going forward should be putting government on the same playing field as the private sector. I think this is really the great hope of the Tea Party because the are building from the ground up. The entitlement crowd will no longer be able to hide in plain sight.
Living in CA I marvel at the fiscal restraint of NJ. If you are screwed in NJ, I dread to think of the situation in CA. Leaving isn’t currently an option.
Mori: We FLED that place in 2000.
In short, we’re fucked.
I’d better revamp the house budget for ammo and dried food.