The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
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Trenton NJ, internal e-mails recently sent to all cabinet officials have revealed Governor Murphy’s administration is seeking five percent cuts across all government agencies due to a mounting budget deficit. Republican Gubernatorial Candidate and State Senator Jon Bramnick released the following statement:
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Ridgewood NJ, starting Monday, July 1, NJ Transit will implement its first fare increase in nine years, marking the beginning of annual fare hikes that will continue indefinitely. This initial 15% increase, with even steeper rises for those relying on expiring discount programs, is part of a broader strategy to address the agency’s chronic funding shortages.
Continue reading NJ Transit Rides Face 15% Fare Increase on Monday
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TRENTON NJ, The Department of the Treasury delivered a budget update to the Legislature today, providing a detailed revenue report that illustrates the devastating impact COVID-19 has had on New Jersey’s finances and laying out plans to close the looming gap for the remainder of the extended fiscal year through a series of deep cuts and spending deferrals.
A report on the financial condition of the State budget for both Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021 was required pursuant to the COVID-19 Fiscal Mitigation Act (P.L.2020, c.19), which extended the end of the state’s fiscal year from the traditional date of June 30 to September 30, and also extended various tax filing and payment deadlines from April 15 to July 15.
BY ALEXANDER BOLTON – 01/19/17 06:00 AM EST
Donald Trump is ready to take an ax to government spending.
Staffers for the Trump transition team have been meeting with career staff at the White House ahead of Friday’s presidential inauguration to outline their plans for shrinking the federal bureaucracy, The Hill has learned.
The changes they propose are dramatic.
The departments of Commerce and Energy would see major reductions in funding, with programs under their jurisdiction either being eliminated or transferred to other agencies. The departments of Transportation, Justice and State would see significant cuts and program eliminations.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting would be privatized, while the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities would be eliminated entirely.
Overall, the blueprint being used by Trump’s team would reduce federal spending by $10.5 trillion over 10 years.
The proposed cuts hew closely to a blueprint published last year by the conservative Heritage Foundation, a think tank that has helped staff the Trump transition.
Similar proposals have in the past won support from Republicans in the House and Senate, who believe they have an opportunity to truly tackle spending after years of warnings about the rising debt.
Many of the specific cuts were included in the 2017 budget adopted by the conservative Republican Study Committee (RSC), a caucus that represents a majority of House Republicans. The RSC budget plan would reduce federal spending by $8.6 trillion over the next decade.
Two members of Trump’s transition team are discussing the cuts at the White House budget office: Russ Vought, a former aide to Vice President-elect Mike Pence and the former executive director of the RSC, and John Gray, who previously worked for Pence, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) when Ryan headed the House Budget Committee.
https://thehill.com/policy/finance/314991-trump-team-prepares-dramatic-cuts
Christie may cut budget to close growing shortfall, Treasury says
TRENTON — New Jersey’s budget shortfall will grow to a staggering $807 million at the end of April, state officials announced Monday while warning of a fiscal emergency that could force Gov. Chris Christie to make deep and unexpected cuts to several programs.
The state Treasury, in a rare announcement last night, said the Republican governor is bracing for a tough financial blow when the month wraps up tomorrow. Despite the setback, Christie “will take any and all actions necessary” to find the money to shore up his $32.2 billion budget — even if it means slashing property tax rebates or other programs, Treasury indicated.
An early look at major tax revenues by Treasury officials showed the state will be $600 million short of Christie’s estimates for April. (Rizzo/Star-Ledger)
