Tom Kean, who served as the 48th Governor of New Jersey from 1982 to 1990, according to NJ.com, spoke at a commencement ceremony in Florida and had some dire predictions for his home state if New Jersey cannot resolve its pension crisis.
Kean acknowledged that the state’s pension woes pre-dated [current New Jersey Governor Chris] Christie, but said it nevertheless need to be reined in by Christie – and soon.
“It’s becoming like Pac-man,” Kean told the newswire. “It’s taking school funds. It’s taking funds for the transportation (trust fund). It’s taking funds from environmental protection…“
Gov. Tom Kean compared New Jersey’s under-funded state pension system to “Pac-man” ravenously consuming funds for schools, roads and environmental protection, and urged Gov. Chris Christie to take action before it became a disastrous mess in two or three years.
Christie’s 2011 pension reform package had been structured to incrementally increase New Jersey’s pension contributions. But after state tax revenues fell $2.7 billion short last year, Christie slashed his planned pension payments, triggering legal battles. State employee unions have since moved to sue the state to force Christie to make the skipped contributions, with the fight ending up in New Jersey’s state Supreme Court. [Emphasis added.]
On Monday, Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson postponed oral arguments on the unions’ lawsuit against the Christie administration, pending a New Jersey State Supreme Court decision on whether to uphold or strike down her ruling on pensions for the current fiscal year.
Related:
- Articles: Which States Have the Most Underfunded Pensions?
- Promises Made, Promises Broken – The Betrayal of Pensioners and Taxpayers > Publications > State Budget Solutions
