Given the praise that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has attracted in this forum, you might be interested to read an account posted at Human Events recounting his plans for his administration’s second year:
Christie said his administration would focus on three key areas in 2011: state spending, pension and benefit reform for public employees, and education reform.
Christie said his fiscal 2011 budget, enacted with only minor changes by the Democratic legislature last June, had reduced spending by 9 percent from the prior year, closing a projected $11 billion deficit without raising taxes. The budget accomplished this by making cuts ? some as much as 39 percent ? in every department in state government. It also contained cuts of more than $445 million in aid to municipalities and $800 million in state aid to schools on top of $475 million in education spending that was withheld from the prior year.
The governor said his budget for the next fiscal year will not restore those cuts, but will continue to reduce spending in an effort to undo New Jersey?s structural budget deficit.
?We can?t continue to spend money we don?t have. We can?t print money, and we can?t run deficits. So we have to continue to make some very tough decisions about what we can afford and what we can?t,? Christie said. ?Next month, I will present to you my budget for fiscal year 2012. I will guarantee you this: It will be balanced, and it will not raise taxes.?
