O’Scanlon: “This is a crtical moment for our children’s future”

By Senator Declan O’Scanlon

Senator Declan O’Scanlon

So. This is what it’s come to. Incredibly, we just passed one of the largest tax increases in the history of the state…and we’re no more than one, infinitesimal, step closer to sustainable solvency than we were the day before. And trust me, we are very ($ billions) far away. We don’t need infinitesimal steps, we need bold leaps…and we need bold leadership willing to make them.

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Christie to Public-Employee Unions: No Contracts, No Step Increases in Salaries

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O’Scanlon: We MUST move forward on pension and budget reform

By Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon

Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon

Now that the 2016 budget debate is over, we must get back to the most pressing state issue of our time.  The suggestion of some in the public worker sector that those of us who voted against the budget are in favor of our abandoning our commitment to ensuring their pensions is completely false.  For any responsible elected official, and decent human being, it is imperative that we meet our commitments in a way that protects our pubic workers – and the NJ economy at the same time.

The reason we couldn’t make a payment larger than the $1.3 billion one included in the Governor’s budget has nothing to do with a lack of will or integrity.  It’s about devoting as much $ as possible without inflicting massive, economy-killing, tax increases on an economy just now showing signs of real growth.  Without economic growth there will be no chance we will be able to meet our commitments to the system in the many years to come – so ensuring growth is as important to public workers as anyone else.  We don’t simply have a $1.8 billion deficit this year. We have a $6 to $7 billion hole over the next few years. Taxing the life out of our economy this year, with no plan going forward – and leaving us in a $2 billion hole next year as the Democrat’s proposed budget would – is bad policy, for all New Jerseyans.

But it is true as well that we can’t foster growth to the exclusion of our obligation to our dedicated public workers.  And I can’t state that point vehemently enough.  Our teachers and other public workers are decent, devoted, professional people.  Generalizations to the contrary are without merit.

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Key excerpts from N.J. Supreme Court ruling on pensions

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Christie calls for interested parties to “come to the table” to solve pension crisis

Photo by Paul Scharff

Governor Chris Christie reacted to the New Jersey Supreme Court decision that he has the authority to cut pension payments from the State Budget and that the political branches of government…the Governor and Legislature…not the Court…must “deal with one another to forge a solution to the tenuous financial status of New Jersey’s pension funding in a way that comports with the strictures of our constitution,” by calling for “all interested parties” to come together and solve the New Jersey’s pension and benefit crisis “once and for all.”

“This decision is an important victory not only for our taxpayers who simply cannot afford these unsustainably high costs, but for limited, constitutional government that recognizes the proper role of the executive and legislative branches of government,” the Governor said in a statement issued by his office, “The Court’s position is clear, as is mine, it is time to move forward and work together to find a tangible, long-term solution to make our pension system and public employee health benefit costs affordable and sustainable for generations to come. In light of today’s decision, I urge all interested parties to come back to the table and partner with me to finally solve this problem once and for all.”

Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon, R-Monmouth, the Assembly Republican Budget Officer, said,

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N.J. Assembly Republicans accuse NJEA of ‘pandering’ to members in pension talk pullout

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Moody’s: New Jersey’s Pension Funds Could Run Dry in Just 10 Years

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Analysis: Would an Elected Comptroller Solve NJ’s Pension Crisis?

New York State comptroller, Thomas P. DiNapoli. New York and New Jersey are high-cost states that share a regional economy, high state and local government payrolls and benefit plans, a wealthy tax base, and a scandal-ridden Port Authority. What the two states don’t share is a massive pension crisis and the poor bond ratings that go… Read the rest of this entry »

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Christie Town Hall in Long Branch on Tuesday August 19

Govenor Chris Christie at his Belmar Town Hall on July 31

Governor Chris Christie will continue his Jersey Shore “No Pain, No Gain” tour with a stop in Long Branch next Tuesday at the Long Branch Amphitheater on McKinley Ave. 

The event is scheduled to start at 3PM.   The Governor’s Office requests RSVPs at  [email protected] .

Christie was rained out in Long Branch on July 15th.

Christie has been informing the public and about the pension and benefit crisis the State is facing during his summer tour.  He promises to announce a plan for pension and benefit reform sometime in the early fall.

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Christie will hold Town Hall Meeting in Belmar, Weds, July 30

The next stop on Governor Chris Christie’s “No Pain, No Gain” tour on the Jersey Shore will be held in Belmar next Wednesday, 3PM, at the  Huisman Gazebo, 500 Ocean Ave.

Christie kicked off the tour in Long Beach Island on Tuesday where he said he would be proposing a plan to save New Jersey from bankruptcy by the end of this summer. The work-in-progress plan will focus on reducing pensions and benefits for public workers.

“There are going to be some really difficult things,” Christie said. “There’s not a lot of places left to do things except to look at a whole different variety of ways to reduce benefits or to increase contributions by employees.”

Residents can RSVP for the Belmar event to [email protected]

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