Jersey's Top Lawman Denies 
A More Perfect Union
Matt Rooney | November 9, 2009
Get a load of this Star-Ledger headline, Save Jerseyans:
How could it possibly be a bad thing for Chris Christie to follow-through with something he was elected to do? Doesn't it say something that the interests of big labor's leaders are so fundamentally at odds with the concerns of the taxpayers who just made Chris Christie our next governor?
The problem here is that Jon Corzine, Jim McGreevey, Dick Codey, and a long line of New Jersey elected leaders have allowed themselves to be bought and sold by the union bosses. Years of vote-driven union concessions have left our state financially ill-prepared to weather a severe economic downturn. It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that our state is now no longer able to afford paid family leave, expensive employment perks, extended personal vacations, and bloated department payrolls in the middle of a prolonged economic recession! Don't forget that all public workers are, logically, paid for by the public. If businesses and individual taxpayers are making less and, consequently, sending less tax dollars to Trenton, then our state government will necessarily be less able to support the public sector workforce that (I might add) continues to grow despite a decline in private sector unemployment.
The union rank-in-file has been lied to; the current system is unsustainable! Public worker layoffs are, ironically, the best thing that can happen for our state workers at this juncture. Trenton's ship is taking on water and sinking. The only way to save the ship is to jettison excess weight. Either we shrink government immediately, reduce the tax burden and allow the private sector to grow or face the prospect of long-term, widespread unpaid furloughs and salary reductions for the entire public workforce.
What we really need is responsible, reasonable and independent voices to step forward from the public workers unions to cooperate with Governor-Elect Christie as he makes these difficult determinations. Our collective fates are tied to the successful negotiation of this important problem. Delays predicated on a stubborn adherence to the old dynamic will only hasten New Jersey's economic day of judgment.
Get a load of this Star-Ledger headline, Save Jerseyans:
"N.J. unions worry Christie will keep promises when he takes office"
How could it possibly be a bad thing for Chris Christie to follow-through with something he was elected to do? Doesn't it say something that the interests of big labor's leaders are so fundamentally at odds with the concerns of the taxpayers who just made Chris Christie our next governor?
The problem here is that Jon Corzine, Jim McGreevey, Dick Codey, and a long line of New Jersey elected leaders have allowed themselves to be bought and sold by the union bosses. Years of vote-driven union concessions have left our state financially ill-prepared to weather a severe economic downturn. It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that our state is now no longer able to afford paid family leave, expensive employment perks, extended personal vacations, and bloated department payrolls in the middle of a prolonged economic recession! Don't forget that all public workers are, logically, paid for by the public. If businesses and individual taxpayers are making less and, consequently, sending less tax dollars to Trenton, then our state government will necessarily be less able to support the public sector workforce that (I might add) continues to grow despite a decline in private sector unemployment.
The union rank-in-file has been lied to; the current system is unsustainable! Public worker layoffs are, ironically, the best thing that can happen for our state workers at this juncture. Trenton's ship is taking on water and sinking. The only way to save the ship is to jettison excess weight. Either we shrink government immediately, reduce the tax burden and allow the private sector to grow or face the prospect of long-term, widespread unpaid furloughs and salary reductions for the entire public workforce.
What we really need is responsible, reasonable and independent voices to step forward from the public workers unions to cooperate with Governor-Elect Christie as he makes these difficult determinations. Our collective fates are tied to the successful negotiation of this important problem. Delays predicated on a stubborn adherence to the old dynamic will only hasten New Jersey's economic day of judgment.
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