Let the Budgeting Begin
Posted November 13, 2009

As we reported in last week’s Musings and this week’s Newsletter, New Jersey families won a monumental victory on November 3 with the election of a pro-life, pro-marriage governor. Yet, even though social issues remain paramount moving forward, among the first and primary tasks of the new administration will be addressing our state’s financial chaos.

And with the emotions surrounding last week’s elections quickly fading, political eyes have already turned towards the future. How will Governor-Elect Chris Christie tackle New Jersey’s fiscal problems – problems amounting to an $8 billion budget deficit and brought on not simply by a few years but by many years of waste, mismanagement, borrowing, spending, taxation, etc.

According to an article in Tuesday’s Star Ledger, one option floating around is that of declaring a financial emergency within the state. The Ledger reports, “Such a declaration -- invoking the same law as if New Jersey were hit by a natural disaster -- could give Christie broad powers, such as suspending rules governing state worker layoffs.”

A related article in yesterday’s Ledger noted that Christie “cautioned that no decisions have been made.” And the Associated Press cited Christie Spokeswoman Maria Comella as stating:

It is completely premature to make any assumptions at this point in time since the governor-elect is looking at many different options on how to best address the fiscal challenges facing our state…. The transition team will appropriately vet and give the necessary consideration to recommendations before the governor-elect unveils his first steps to put in order our FY2011 budget.

Without a doubt, the task of fixing New Jersey’s financial crisis is daunting, yet we would like respectfully to submit the same recommendation for Governor-Elect Christie that the we did for Governor Corzine on several occasions: across-the-board spending cuts. On January 11, 2008, we wrote:

We recommend that each state department and agency be required to cut its operating budget by 10% this year, and then freeze spending at that level for the next 3 years. This would, no doubt, put a noticeable dent in the state debt. This is not impossible, and it’s what New Jerseyans deserve.

Later that year, on June 16, 2008, we wrote:

We have heard of governors from other states who, when faced with deficit situations, have delivered the message to their cabinet that they expect equal cuts of a certain percentage across the board in every department head’s budget – and any department head unwilling to be part of the process to work for the state’s taxpayers can submit his or her resignation.

And as recently as a few weeks ago, on October 2, 2009, we wrote:

[A]s we have been saying for quite some time, if the administration would give a firm directive to all state agencies to cut spending by 10% – across the board – the benefits would be palpable.

Getting New Jersey back on firm financial footing is no easy task. Cuts will be required, and some of those cuts may be painful. But just as families trim their spending to meet their budgets, so too must our state trim its spending. By applying across-the-board cuts, New Jersey could take the bull by the horns and confront our skyrocketing deficit head-on.

As Governor-Elect Christie takes office, we will learn more of his plans to tackle our state’s fiscal woes. Yet, as we do, we sincerely urge the new administration to take the same approach families take when faced with a financial shortage: cut spending, cut spending, cut spending.

While this is easier said than done, it’s far from impossible. And it’s just the type of decisive and proactive leadership New Jerseyans are ready for and deserve.

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