CHRISTIE LOSES PENSION CASE

[Panich52]

CHRISTIE LOSES PENSION CASE

Big union win over Gov. Christie in pension battle. NYT:

“…a New Jersey judge ruled on Monday that he violated state law when he declined to make the full payment into the state’s pension system for public employees last year and ordered him to find a way to fund it now … [She] also ordered the administration to pay the legal fees of the several public sector unions that sued to force the payments.”
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/02/24/nyregion/christie-broke-law-with-pension-move-new-jersey-judge-says.html?referrer=

Christie still determined to cut pension benefits. Bloomberg:

“[Christie] will present a spending plan Tuesday that seeks to contribute $1.3 billion to New Jersey’s government-employee pensions for the year starting July 1, according to a figure released by his office. That’s less than half the $2.9 billion it was scheduled to pay … The state’s failure to set aside enough money to cover employee benefits has contributed to a record eight credit-rating downgrades under Christie…”
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-02-24/christie-seeks-to-roll-back-pension-payments-after-court-ruling

But Christie may have reached a compromise with teachers unions. NYT:

“In his annual budget address Tuesday in Trenton, Mr. Christie will disclose that he and the teachers’ union have spent weeks in secret talks aimed at closing the billion-dollar deficit that involves the teachers’ retirement and health benefits.”
http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/02/24/christies-truce-with-teachers-could-pay-dividends-in-16/?_r=0

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[LiberalEsto]

1. I have a friend who is a NJ teacher approaching retirement

and she's told me the pension looting started under (rethug) former Gov. Christie Todd Whitman. The teachers' union has been fighting for years to get the money replaced. This money belongs to the workers who paid into it from their salaries.

[rurallib]

2. It is part of their compensation every bit as much as the weekly paycheck

and the medical benefits are. Looting the pension fund is simple theft. Whoever does it should be held accountable and restitution should be made. And time served. Period.

And of course this is the plan Republicans have for Social Security.

[Laxman]

3. Putting Aside The Judge's Findings....

in this matter, consider that Christie turned over the investment of state pension funds to his cronies who cost the funds nearly $4 billion in lost revenues and increased management fees. http://www.ibtimes.com/gov-christie-shifted-pension-cash-wall-street-costing-new-jersey-taxpayers-38-billion-1667622 Mr. Grady won't be missing any pension payments. Only people to get hurt were the ones who actually had portions of their salaries invested into the pension system.