Balancing the budget on the backs of public employees
A state judge will decide whether New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie can save his ailing budget by simply taking $2.4 billion meant for public-workers’ pensions. Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson on Thursday agreed to hear a lawsuit brought by State Police troopers, who are decrying Christie’s proposal to reduce payments as illegal. Christie’s policies of tax cuts for corporations have left New Jersey reeling from a credit rating downgrade. Now Christie wants to make the books look good by taking cops’ retirement savings.