>New Jersey Fiscal Crisis : N.J. Gov. Christie slows increase in debt burden
N.J. Gov. Christie slows increase in debt burden
Sunday, December 19, 2010
LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY DECEMBER 19, 2010, 9:37 AM
BY JOHN REITMEYER
STATE HO– USE BUREAU
New Jersey’s debt burden, which increased by nearly 700 percent during the last two decades, grew only 3 percent during the last budget year — something Governor Christie said did not happen by accident.
Under the administration of Governor Christie, New Jersey’s debt burden grew by 3 percent in the last budget year, but his frugality has also garnered scrutiny.
Christie, a Republican who preaches lower taxes and smaller government, froze state spending and approved new borrowing only for transportation infrastructure and school construction since taking office in January, according to a report released by the state Department of Treasury last week.
And the $1.25 billion added to the state’s bonded debt total between June 30, 2009, and June 30, 2010, had already been set in motion through capital programs approved before Christie came to Trenton last year.
But Christie’s frugal use of the state’s credit card barely made a dent in the state’s overall bonded debt burden of $37.7 billion thanks to the borrowing habits of prior governors, who left New Jersey residents with a per-capita debt load of $3,669 — good for 4th-highest among all states in the U.S.
MORE: https://www.northjersey.com/news/politics/112144479_Christie_slows_increase_in_debt_burden.html
