Corzine proposes $812 million in spending cuts to plug a $2.1 billion whole

Now that is fiscal wizardary!

A copy of the Treasury Department's press release plus 12 pages that detail the "cuts" can be found here.

Of the "cuts", $205.6 million are pension deferral "savings" (pages 1, 2 and 11). These are not cuts or savings. This is borrowing from the state pension plan and will have to be made up in later years when the stocks the plan invests in have rebounded.

Also of interest, $21.2 million for stem cell research has been cut (pages 10 and 11). Didn't the voters make it clear to Corzine in 2007 that we don't want our tax dollars funding stem cell research? I wonder how much more is in there that hasn't been cut.

How about the "lower than expected costs" for retiree health benefits of $39 million (pages 3 and 9). Lower than expected costs are a cut?

The Tourette Syndrome Association of NJ is losing $250 thousand in funding. I bet they are ticked.

Corzine is imposing a wage freeze on non-union employees (many of whom just got a raise two weeks ago) and again said that he wants a freeze for union employees too. The unions again said no way, if they can't earn more when there is a surplus, they ain't giving back when there is a deficit. No layoffs or furloughs have been announced.

Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean, Jr. and Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce issued the following statement:

As Governor Corzine delivered further information regarding his proposed cuts to the state's budget, Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean and Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce said they are amazed at how Corzine refuses to listen to taxpayers ' pleas to reduce the spending that has put the state into further debt. Both agreed the governor's lack of leadership has contributed greatly to the state's fiscal crisis.

“For years, the governor has ignored the demands of middle-class taxpayers not to expand government beyond the ability of the people to pay over the long haul,” Kean and DeCroce said. “Like bank executives did with investors’ money, Corzine rolled the dice and bet that good times would last forever. Just like his friends on Wall Street, Corzine is looking to middle-class taxpayers to pay the price for fiscal mismanagement.”

Both legislators noted that the governor was urged more than a year ago to cut back on spending, impound money and build a surplus to prepare as the economy declined. That advice was ignored and then conveniently forgotten by the governor. More than $4 billion in detailed and painstakingly researching budget savings were offered to the governor over the last three years. The governor never seriously considered them and instead has spent his entire administration finding ways to push through new borrowings and tax, fee and toll increases.