Gov. Christie rolls up his sleeves

NorthJersey.com:

[Newly-elected New Jersey] Governor [Christopher] Christie on Thursday promised to eliminate a number of New Jersey boards and commissions where political appointees are... able to pad their public pensions, in some cases mostly for attending monthly meetings.
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[In] the outgoing administration’s final days, ... Gov. Jon Corzine appointed dozens of Democratic aides and department heads to government boards overseeing such professions as marriage therapists, contact-lens dispensers and veterinarians...
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Most, if not all, of [the appointees] will have no [other] job in the new Republican administration.  As board appointees, however, they can add service years toward a pension — meaning they can earn credit toward the 10-year minimum to qualify, or increase their retirement payout if they’re already vested.

“This is stuff that’s been done by previous governors and previous administrations to keep their friends in the pension system in order to accumulate the number of years they need to get the maximum amount of payoff they can get from the taxpayers,” Christie said.  “It’s wrong.  It’s wrong when Republicans do it.  It’s wrong when Democrats do it.  In the end we are fleecing our own state.”

And he has landslide-level public support for going after public-employee pay and headcount:

Gov. Christopher Christie enters office with a 33%-27% approval rating and a go-ahead to cut state spending, layoff state workers and freeze their salaries, and continue his fight on corruption, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today [January 20].
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By a 58%-35% margin, New Jerseyans support layoffs or furloughs of state workers.  In union households, the total is 50%-44%.  Freezing wages for state works also gets statewide support, 71%-23%, including 62%-38% among union households and 64%-30% among Democrats.

Keep an eye on the Garden State...


Related:

Both via The Coalition of the Swilling: 1, 2

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