the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Trenton NJ, Over the weekend, The Star Ledger warned that New Jersey is facing what they describe as a $1.2 billion “Pension Bomb”.
The combination of a scheduled payment of the state’s first full recommended pension contribution and Governor Murphy’s reckless rush to lower the assumed rate of return of the system’s investments have created a year-over-year increase of more than $1.2 billion in what taxpayers must pay to keep the public pension system afloat.
NJGOP Chairman Doug Steinhardt offered the following solution:
“The ‘Pension Bomb’ is real and the clock is ticking. If pandering politicians like Governor Murphy don’t get honest and act now, it will explode.”
The Chairman added, that “while Governor Murphy is out to dinner on the State’s pension crisis, the check is coming due and we can’t pay for it. The State’s Democrats are politically incapable of constructing a solution. That’s why we need more Republicans at the table. Ideological diversity isn’t a prerogative, it’s an imperative.”
“2019 is a chance for New Jersey voters to reject Phil Murphy’s failed fiscal policies and send common sense Republicans to Trenton. Don’t waste it. We need representatives at the State government table who are willing to work on structural reforms to the pension system and economic policies that will inspire growth and prosperity. Democrats keep resorting to their broken-down playbook of short-cuts, one-shot deals and rigging of the system. Don’t let them. We need honest answers to the State’s real problems. We have them. Give the NJGOP a chance to do better. We can’t do worse.”
Blame the Politicians for stealing the money.
Did not see where republican politicians fix anything!
I guess you missed all of those town hall meetings by Chris Christie where he shouted at the top of his lungs about the pension crisis. Remember the teachers arguing with him. Dig out the You Tube videos.
He was right. Yeah Yeah don’t tell me about 2 days traffic at the GWB.
This has been a crisis since before Christie that started with a string of corrupt Democrats like McGreevey and Corzine. Can’t hang this one on the Republicans – sorry.
It started with Christie Todd Whitman.
The pension program was bankrupt long before CC became Gov.
It started when the public sector unions negotiated with their democrat enablers and established rich benefits packages because their bloated salaries were making the wrong kind of headlines. Both the politicians and the unions were spending other people’s money so they didn’t care about the present value of the future benefits — and why not, the federal government does that all the time. Well, the difference is that the federal government can literally print money something that states cannot do.
“Did not see where republican politicians fix anything!Did not see where republican politicians fix anything!”
.
You need to be in power to fix anything.
See.
That’s how it works.
Understand now?
Good.
.
BTW, Are you a graduate of the Ridgewood School System?
Just curious.
.
Not happy with either side as each happily kicked the can down the road, until now the its too much to afford. 20 years of underpayment by the state as the employees make continued contributions. But yes, by all means blame the unions.