New Jersey’s budget mess is so bad a judge last week ruled it a “disaster.”
It could be even worse in the new fiscal year that begins Tuesday. At stake is a financial future of New Jersey, struggling under the weight of a $51-billion shortfall in the state retirement system.
Gov. Chris Christie on Monday night signed the $32.5 billion budget. As expected, the Republican governor used his line-item veto power to strike down a tax increase for millionaires plus a 15-percent surcharge on corporate taxes.
“The Legislature appears to be intent on inhibiting economic growth with crushing taxes,” said Christie in his veto statement.
The proposed levies, pushed by Democratic lawmakers, could have enabled New Jersey to make a statutorily required $2.25 billion contribution to state pension funds. Instead, Christie cut the payment down to $681 million to balance the budget, as required by the state constitution.
“The governor has decided to continue protecting the state’s wealthiest at the expense of the middle class and working poor,” countered Senate President Steve Sweeney in a statement.
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