Thomas Donlan of Barron’s devotes his latest editorial commentary to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, focusing first on “Bridgegate” and other reports of gubernatorial bullying, then turning to an issue of more importance to the Garden State’s long-term fiscal health.
Some of the people who want a government that works also want an honest government. And it’s more than the mere absence of corruption they desire. Sure, they want honest politicians who don’t let bribes guide their official actions. They also want honesty in the public accounts, so that they know they are getting all the government they pay for, and no more.
Bridgegate was last year’s tragicomic series of cheap excuses. Now Christie has a different problem, also of his own making.
In his first term, Christie became a hero of sound financial management. After taking office in 2010 and confronting huge deficits, he led a hostile legislature to five balanced budgets in a row—supposedly balanced.
The Republican governor proposed a restructuring of the pension and health-benefits programs for state and municipal workers, which had been sorely underfunded by a parade of governors. He saw it passed by healthy bipartisan majorities in both houses of the legislature; some of the votes even came from union members, for measures such as an increase in the employees’ contribution to their benefit fund.
As Christie said in the State of the State message in January of this year, “We didn’t do it the Washington way by raising taxes. We did it by cutting spending, shrinking government, and fundamentally reforming the way government operates.”
Actually, the Christie administration and the legislature did it in the old-fashioned New Jersey way, with blue smoke and cracked mirrors.
The Christie administration shortchanged programs, notably the contributions to the state employees’ pension and health-benefit funds. Even with those adjustments, state spending continued to rise. And New Jersey still has some of the highest state and local taxes in the country.
