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The Legislature today reached a bipartisan consensus in support of Governor Chris Christie’s budget plan to close an unprecedented $11 billion deficit without raising taxes.
The final budget calls for spending $29.38 billion and leaving a surplus of over $300 million – the same figures Governor Christie proposed in March and updated in May for the fiscal 2011 budget. Governor Christie made it a critical requirement that any increases by the Legislature to restore funding to programs occur within his budget proposal of $29.38 billion and protect the year-end surplus.
New Jersey Legislature Supports Governor Christie (http://www.thegovmonitor.com/world_news/united_states/new-jersey-legislature-supports-governor-christie%e2%80%99s-budget-plan-34287.html - broken link)
Chris Christie is a force to be reckoned with. It's quite refreshing to watch Democrats called out for their ineptitude and blatant disregard for taxpayer funds. The New Kid on the Block forced them to throw in the towel. It's a beautiful sight.
Quote:
The McDonnell Administration is expected to tell legislators later this week that Virginia -- despite the recession and its aftershocks -- is finishing the spending year with even more money that expected.
An additional $174 million -- largely money not spent by agencies -- would be added to a projected surplus of at least $220 million, pushing the total on extra cash to about $400 million, according to budget officials.
McDonnell, a Republican, took office in January, facing a $4.2 billion revenue shortfall. McDonnell and the legislature refused to raise taxes, closing the hole, instead, with spending cuts and federal economic-stimulus dollars.
Virginia surplus grows to nearly $400 million | Richmond Times-Dispatch (http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2010/aug/17/7/va-surplus-nearly-double-estimate-ar-458073/ - broken link)
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Note To Democrats: This is how you govern. And this is why your cronies are about to be booted from office in 2010 and 2012. Bet on it.
I really hope Illinoisans have the sensibility to throw out our democratic state government this fall. We are as bad or worse off than NJ, and if we don't right this ship with some fiscally responsible leadership soon Illinois will be knocking on the fed's door for more bailout.
I applaud Chris Christie and I hope NJ respects and admires what he's done for their state.
Clearly, governor of NJ can teach a thing or two to governor of Arizona, that it is possible to balance budget or have surplus without raising taxes? Or, the governor of CA for that matter. Or, Texas.
New Jersey Legislature Supports Governor Christie (http://www.thegovmonitor.com/world_news/united_states/new-jersey-legislature-supports-governor-christie%e2%80%99s-budget-plan-34287.html - broken link)
Chris Christie is a force to be reckoned with. It's quite refreshing to watch Democrats called out for their ineptitude and blatant disregard for taxpayer funds. The New Kid on the Block forced them to throw in the towel. It's a beautiful sight.
Virginia surplus grows to nearly $400 million | Richmond Times-Dispatch (http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2010/aug/17/7/va-surplus-nearly-double-estimate-ar-458073/ - broken link)
******************************************
Note To Democrats: This is how you govern. And this is why your cronies are about to be booted from office in 2010 and 2012. Bet on it.
I'm aware of when the legislature voted on the budget to avoid the Government shutdown, but this is the FIRST i'm hearing or reading about a surplus. I believe who ever wrote this article may have jumped the gun a bit. No one else is reporting this surplus for NJ. I guess this tidbit is similiar to Clinton's surplus
I'm aware of when the legislature voted on the budget to avoid the Government shutdown, but this is the FIRST i'm hearing or reading about a surplus. I believe who ever wrote this article may have jumped the gun a bit. No one else is reporting this surplus for NJ. I guess this tidbit is similiar to Clinton's surplus
And it likely is. IIRC, the budget proposal included $1 billion in federal stimulus money. Without the stimulus, the state would still have about $700 million in deficit.
I'm not necessarily pointing out that what is or isn't being done in NJ is bad, in fact, I like what I see unless... if that involves laying off people the proposal will be self-defeating in the future, but I guess politicians only care about elections.
Being able to function, make smart cuts but without hurting the people (throwing them out of their jobs) is always welcome. Can NJ do that? We shall see. Not even successful corporations have shown that kind of thinking ability to me, and to see politicians claim that, well...
Clearly, governor of NJ can teach a thing or two to governor of Arizona, that it is possible to balance budget or have surplus without raising taxes? Or, the governor of CA for that matter. Or, Texas.
Every legislator, whether local, State, or Federal, has to understand that We The People will not stand for irresponsible stewardship of taxpayer money. I encourage people of every state and political leaning to purge these people from office and demand fiscal sanity.
Every legislator, whether local, State, or Federal, has to understand that We The People will not stand for irresponsible stewardship of taxpayer money. I encourage people of every state and political leaning to purge these people from office and demand fiscal sanity.
That is true. Politicians should be held accountable. But they can only be held accountable if people stopped playing partisan politics and actually understood everything behind the scene while comparing a politician's lip service to it. It would help immensely if people understood the pros and cons of EVERY policy (don't tell me that some have the perfect solution to any problem without issues showing up elsewhere), instead of blindly following the act and words of politicians.
Now, consider the rest of my previous post. Should we really buy into this notion of budget surplus while opposing federal stimulus? Because if you took federal stimulus money out, there is no surplus but a deficit. That changes the premise of the thread, doesn't it?
I also think it would be responsible of the people to be willing to contribute to the deficits, and hold politicians accountable for the spending they're involved in.
That is true. Politicians should be held accountable. But they can only be held accountable if people stopped playing partisan politics and actually understood everything behind the scene while comparing a politician's lip service to it. It would help immensely if people understood the pros and cons of EVERY policy (don't tell me that some have the perfect solution to any problem without issues showing up elsewhere), instead of blindly following the act and words of politicians.
Now, consider the rest of my previous post. Should we really buy into this notion of budget surplus while opposing federal stimulus? Because if you took federal stimulus money out, there is no surplus but a deficit. That changes the premise of the thread, doesn't it?
I also think it would be responsible of the people to be willing to contribute to the deficits, and hold politicians accountable for the spending they're involved in.
You have valid points, but you're undermining the actual accomplishment. New Jersey went from an $11 Billion deficit to a $300 million surplus. While mathematically $1 Billion changes the surplus to a deficit, it does not erase the other ~$9 Billion cuts/savings that the NJ government put in place. For a state with a history of bad political/fiscal decisions, this is a huge accomplishment. And it was done under Republican leadership.
Easy now people. I'm a big fan of the Christi "idea", but he's not far into his term and he has a long way to go. We're being a bit premature in handing him the golden keys, but it does look that its a promising start.
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