NJ Watchdog: Christie runs for president - and away from pension mess

Fresh from a failure to fix New Jersey’s pension system and its $170 billion deficit, Gov. Chris Christie is scheduled to formally announce his run for the White House next week.

But first, Christie is expected to veto parts of a state budget that would restore $1.8 billion he cut from the state’s scheduled pension contribution. The governor is slated to hold a news conference Friday to explain his rejection of budget changes approved Thursday by the Democratic-controlled Senate and Assembly.

Then next Tuesday morning, Christie has a date at his alma mater, Livingston High School, to tell the world why he should be the next president of the United States. That afternoon, he’ll fly to New Hampshire for the ninth time this year to try to convince primary voters that he should be running the country.

Meanwhile, New Jersey’s fiscal dilemma will be in its governor’s rearview mirror as he travels the nation to audition for a new job. And his pledge to fix the state’s pension system is not likely to be repeated in his campaign speeches.

“We will tackle this problem now and we will solve it,” promised Christie during his budget address in February. “That is what real leadership produces for our people.”

“I am committed to working with each and every one of you in good faith to make a promise to the people of this state that we will not push this off...we will not leave it for another day... for another year... for another generation,” said the governor.

Instead, Christie convinced the state Supreme Court that his own pension reform of 2011 was unconstitutional – a decision that legitimized his decisions to strip billions from the pension contributions required by the law.

The full story is online at http://watchdog.org/226135/christie-president-pension-mess/.

NJ Watchdog: Christie plays offense on NJ pension reforms

Backed into a fiscal corner, a defiant Gov. Chris Christie went on the offensive by proposing an ambitious reform to freeze existing New Jersey state pensions, create new replacement plans and eventually turn over control of the retirement system to labor unions of public workers.

“We don’t need any court to tell us we have a serious problem,” declared Christie in his annual budget address today, one day after a judge ruled the governor unlawfully chopped $1.57 billion from this year’s contribution to the pensions. “No one branch of government can wish, or order this problem away.”

Christie spent nearly nine-tenths of his 28-minute speech talking about pensions to the near-exclusion of the rest of the budget and other economic problems facing New Jersey.

“I was shocked to hear what we heard today,” responded Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-West Deptford. “I was hoping to hear something about moving forward and actually creating jobs in this state.”

The governor briefly announced a $33.8 billion budget with no new taxes for fiscal 2016. He made no mention of the state’s nearly bankrupt Transportation Trust Fund, which is already $17 billion in debt. He vowed to contribute $1.3 billion to the pension funds in 2016 -- less than half of the amount required by statute -- but said nothing about where the state will find the extra $1.57 billion to pay this year.

“I was so underwhelmed with this so-called budget address,” added Sen. Loretta Weinberg, D-Teaneck. “When he got to the end, I thought there were going to be some paragraphs of substance, but there was nothing.”

Instead, Christie offered sketchy details on what he touted as a “national model” for public pension reform – and bragged about an “unprecedented accord” with his longtime nemesis, the 195,000-member New Jersey Education Association.

According to the Christie, NJEA agreed to the framework of a proposal by the governor’s Pension and Health Benefits Study Commission. But after the speech, the teachers’ union quickly backed away from Christie’s claims.

The story is online at http://watchdog.org/202213/christie-pension-reforms/.

NJ WATCHDOG: 'Heck' of hypocrisy in Christie's call for reform

For Immediate Release:

There's a 'Heck' of hypocrisy in Chris Christie's call for disability pension reform during his State of the State address.

"Our pension system is burdened by some who collect disability retirement because they claim they are 'totally and permanently' disabled, but are now working full-time," said New Jersey's governor, ignoring the problem in his own office.

Adam J. Heck, one of Christie's state lawyers, has collected a $110,000 salary plus nearly $45,000 in tax-free disability retirement checks from the state.

At age 28, Heck retired as a Middletown Township police officer in 1993. He was struck on the hand with a hockey stick while responding to a domestic dispute, according to state pension records.

Heck is one of 18 'disabled' state employees who double-dip $2.2 million a year – $1 million in tax-free accidental disability pay plus $1.2 million in salaries – named in a New Jersey Watchdog investigative report last year.

It is only the tip of what happens in a police disability pension system that pays out $200 million a year. The New Jersey Watchdog report did not encompass pensioners who have returned to work for county or local governments – or the private sector – while collecting benefits for not being able to work.

The story is now online at http://newjersey.watchdog.org. The direct link is http://newjersey.watchdog.org/2014/01/15/heck-of-hypocrisy/.

NJ WATCHDOG: Double-Dipping; It's Deja Vu All Over Again

NJ LEADERS LACK APPETITE FOR DOUBLE-DIPPING REFORM

Double-dipping is so sweet that New Jersey public officials have little appetite for reform.

So despite the sour taste for taxpayers, the legacy of governmental retirees who collect a state pension – then return to public payrolls for a second check – will continue into 2014 and likely for years to come.

New Jersey Watchdog investigations in 2013 found:

·     Eighty State Police retirees were rehired by the state, but continued to receive their pensions. Collectively, they received $12.8 million a year – nearly $7 million a year in salaries, plus $5.8 million in retirement pay.

·     Seventeen county sheriffs and 29 undersheriffs also double-dip.  Together, the 46 top cops raked in $8.3 million a year – $3.4 million from pensions and $4.9 million in salaries.

·     Forty-five retired school superintendents returned to work as interim superintendents during the past school year. In addition to their executive pay, they used a loophole in state law to pocket more than $4 million from pensions.

Even though state pension funds face a $47 billion shortfall, New Jersey authorities have never tried to keep tabs on double-dipping or calculate how much it costs.

In the State Legislature, 18 double-dipping lawmakers and their colleagues stand in the way of any attempt at reform.

The full story is online at http://newjersey.watchdog.org.

The direct link is  http://newjersey.watchdog.org/2013/12/10/9524/. 

The Shameless Republicans who Refuse to Denounce Sam Thompson's Double Dipping: Just Another Reason Why New Jersey Property Taxes Are So High.

For nearly two weeks now, I've tried to contact New Jersey Republicans, New Jersey Tea Parties, and New Jersey blogs that claim to be conservative. I've asked them to denounce Sam Thompson's double dipping. Thompson has been double dipping since 1998 as an Assemblyman, and plans continue double dipping if elected State Senator in District 12. Despite this, he claims to be a fiscal conservative. I call him a fiscal phony. Regardless of whether or not I get elected, I want my campaign to at least stop one of the many New Jersey politicians from double dipping. I think it would be an important symbolic victory for New Jersey taxpayers.

I wasn't sure why conservatives haven't been able to pressure Thompson to stop double dipping. I first thought that many groups that are trying to eliminate fiscal waste simply did not know Thompson was a double dipper, so I've reached out to groups around the state through Twitter and Facebook and told them about Thompson's double dipping. I then asked them to join me and other taxpayers in denouncing Thompson's actions.

I contacted Tea Parties in New Jersey on Twitter. Thus far, the Ocean County Tea Party and The Northern New Jersey Tea Party have stood by in deafening silence. Neither of these organizations have joined me in asking Thompson to stop double dipping. Why do groups that claim to be "taxed enough already" refuse to denounce a guy's actions that create government waste and cause high taxes? I'm still awaiting Bayshore Tea Party's response, and will update you with their decision.

The New Jersey Tea Party had an interesting, if not paranoid, reply. After not replying to my first request, I asked them why they refused to denounce Thompson, and they stated that their party "does not refuse to do that". This got my hopes up, as I thought it would lead to a clear denunciation of Thompson. I was wrong. They followed with a rather curious claim, "We are obligated to do nothing you like". It gets better, as they then told me if I "Attempt to dictate what We must say" and "We may claim that You are an enemy of freedom". Amazing. Only in New Jersey. A guy asks a Tea Party group to denounce a double dipper, and I'm considered an enemy of freedom.

After having no luck with Tea Parties, I thought I'd contact some conservative Blogs. Save Jersey claimed to be against all double dipping, but have refused to publicly denounce Thompson. Rather than doing that, they questioned how a candidate with a union endorsement (in this case, NJEA) could question another candidate for "waste & greed". Of course, Thompson was endorsed by the AFL-CIO in 2009, but that doesn't seem to bother them. The larger problem here is their rather pedestrian slight of hand technique to divert attention from the issue of Thompson double dipping. They have yet to publicly denounce Thompson. I'm not holding my breath.

This leads me to Art Gallagher of More Monmouth Musings. Similar to the reply of the New Jersey Tea Party, Art's initial response got my hopes up. He informed me that "conservatives already denounced that months ago before I was a candidate", and asked "where were you then"? I was in Old Bridge, but I also denounced Sam's double dipping back in 2009. I have tried to find out which conservatives he was talking about, and assumed he was claiming to be one of them. However, I haven't found anything that Art has written to suggest he opposes Thompson's double dipping. I also asked him if he could provide me a link. He has yet to do so. Instead, he has questioned the pension I received after I was shot in the line of duty. The Old Bridge GOP and a Republican consulting firm were quick to "retweet" this question,
but less quick to answer my questions about Thompson's antics. As I have previously stated in my last campaign and this one, I will give up my pension if elected to office. This has been published on the Star Ledger website. However, Art isn't really interested in this. He has more interest in maintaining his relationship with cozy relationship with elected Republicans, regardless of their pension antics. Asking about my pension is the same tactic Save Jersey pursued when they asked about one of my endorsements.

Of course, I've tried to contact the GOP and get a few answers. Funnily enough, I expected the least from them in all of this, but the Old Bridge GOP gave me the most entertaining answers. After first asking for a source to my claim about Thompson's double dipping (Did they really not know?), they then told me that Thompson is not "ACTUALLY" double dipping. How did they reach that conclusion? They stated: "Sam retired after 25+ years of service to the State and collects a pension from that. He was then elected to the legislature, a different job, where he receives a salary". Amazing. How is that not double dipping? He continues to receive a pension despite holding a job in the legislature.

It actually gets even better. Old Bridge GOP wrote "Sam's decision to retire saved taxpayers money Bob and you know this. It's easy math." How on earth do they reach this conclusion? It's bad enough to avoid denouncing a double dipper, but now the GOP is claiming that double dipping saves NJ taxpayers money?! Only in New Jersey. And, it wasn't just them. The person running "Frank Pallone is not for New Jersey", who claims to be conservative, also stated that Thompson's double dipping has saved us money. How on earth does anyone let Republicans near their money?!

The only other defense by the Old Bridge GOP is to claim that there are Democratic double dippers. As I've previously stated, I believe double dipping by any politician in any party is wrong. Both sides need to give it up. However, my experience with "conservative" voices in New Jersey tells me that Republican double dippers like Thompson face no pressure to end this practice. As funny as the defenses of Thompson have been to read, it is Thompson and other double dippers that have the last laugh, and they do so at the taxpayer's expense.

Only in New Jersey.

Bob Brown
Democratic Candidate for State Senate in District 12