Cuts

[Guest KO]

Cutting funding to colleges that recieve plenty of private funding is not a HUGE deal. Cutting funding to NJ Transit means job losses, service cut, fair hikes for middle and low class citizens. Okay, that's pretty bad.

UNPRECIDENTED 15% BUDGET CUT FROM NJ PUBLIC SCHOOLS ... OMFG

2smart4u, how does this sit with you? Is cutting school funding the the way to keep up with China and India? By the way, by your rules, you can't blame the previous administration. That's a foul. Jon Corzine never wanted to deprive our children of a GOOD education.

WE fu**ked!

-KO

[Guest 2smart4u]

Cutting funding to colleges that recieve plenty of private funding is not a HUGE deal. Cutting funding to NJ Transit means job losses, service cut, fair hikes for middle and low class citizens. Okay, that's pretty bad.

UNPRECIDENTED 15% BUDGET CUT FROM NJ PUBLIC SCHOOLS ... OMFG

2smart4u, how does this sit with you? Is cutting school funding the the way to keep up with China and India? By the way, by your rules, you can't blame the previous administration. That's a foul. Jon Corzine never wanted to deprive our children of a GOOD education.

WE fu**ked!

-KO

NJ's problems are because of our long-time democratic rule. The tax & spend mentality of the left is the reason NJ has the highest property taxes in the U.S. Christie has a huge task in front of him and people are going to suffer but the alternative of doing nothing is far worse. NJ's public pension system is grossly underfunded and without severe cuts they'll become insolvent. I support Christie and I hope he stays tough and does what needs to be done.

[Guest ko]

NJ's problems are because of our long-time democratic rule. The tax & spend mentality of the left is the reason NJ has the highest property taxes in the U.S. Christie has a huge task in front of him and people are going to suffer but the alternative of doing nothing is far worse. NJ's public pension system is grossly underfunded and without severe cuts they'll become insolvent. I support Christie and I hope he stays tough and does what needs to be done.

YOU BROKE THE RULES. IT'S ALWAYS THE NEW GUY'S FAULT.

[Guest Just Wondering]

NJ's problems are because of our long-time democratic rule. The tax & spend mentality of the left is the reason NJ has the highest property taxes in the U.S. Christie has a huge task in front of him and people are going to suffer but the alternative of doing nothing is far worse. NJ's public pension system is grossly underfunded and without severe cuts they'll become insolvent. I support Christie and I hope he stays tough and does what needs to be done.

Wasn't it Christine Todd Whitman a Rep. who raided the public employees pension fund? and that is one of the main reasons it is under funded?

[Guest Guest]

Wasn't it Christine Todd Whitman a Rep. who raided the public employees pension fund? and that is one of the main reasons it is under funded?

It's A reason, nothing more. And that has nothing to do with NJ's highest property taxes or highest auto insurance rates. If you look at all the states that are in financial trouble, they're all Dem. states.

[Guest Guest]

It's A reason, nothing more. And that has nothing to do with NJ's highest property taxes or highest auto insurance rates. If you look at all the states that are in financial trouble, they're all Dem. states.

Please feel free to enlighten us as to which Republican States are doing well in these in these harsh economic times.

[Guest ko]

Way to stand by your fat man while he astronomically cuts school funding. You're such a loser, 2smart4u. You're a grown man who simply follows the leader. You don't even have your own opinions and convictions; you have to borrow them from Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. 15 PERCENT. If you think that's OKAY, then you're F**KING NUTS!

The worst Republicans are guys like you: closeted homosexuals who are sexually fixated on male conservative muckrakers. If all of you would just come out, you'd find that you're ALL actually liberals. Why do you want to sit at home and jerk it to Bill O'Reilly, when you could actually be out pursuing REAL hot dudes with sweet mustaches and tight builds? Blows my mind, man. Totally blows my mind. This is the worst social phenomenon ... the one you're apart of.

[Guest 2smart4u]

Way to stand by your fat man while he astronomically cuts school funding. You're such a loser, 2smart4u. You're a grown man who simply follows the leader. You don't even have your own opinions and convictions; you have to borrow them from Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. 15 PERCENT. If you think that's OKAY, then you're F**KING NUTS!

The worst Republicans are guys like you: closeted homosexuals who are sexually fixated on male conservative muckrakers. If all of you would just come out, you'd find that you're ALL actually liberals. Why do you want to sit at home and jerk it to Bill O'Reilly, when you could actually be out pursuing REAL hot dudes with sweet mustaches and tight builds? Blows my mind, man. Totally blows my mind. This is the worst social phenomenon ... the one you're apart of.

"hot dudes with sweet mustaches and tight builds"?? I didn't realize you were into that sort of thing, good luck with that.

[Guest Guest]

Way to stand by your fat man while he astronomically cuts school funding. You're such a loser, 2smart4u. You're a grown man who simply follows the leader. You don't even have your own opinions and convictions; you have to borrow them from Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. 15 PERCENT. If you think that's OKAY, then you're F**KING NUTS!

The worst Republicans are guys like you: closeted homosexuals who are sexually fixated on male conservative muckrakers. If all of you would just come out, you'd find that you're ALL actually liberals. Why do you want to sit at home and jerk it to Bill O'Reilly, when you could actually be out pursuing REAL hot dudes with sweet mustaches and tight builds? Blows my mind, man. Totally blows my mind. This is the worst social phenomenon ... the one you're apart of.

Well DANG KO which IS it?? are all Conservatives Racists, or are they Gay???? You keep projecting your own inner person onto others skippy and one day you'll just quietly go insane. It MIGHT be funny if it wasnt so absolutely pathetic...of course im sure now You'll go all Keyboard Commando and start making empty threats, but that does makes us laugh at you all the harder. I have news for you Mr Internet Tough Guy, you're nothing but Clown Shoes.

[Guest ko]

Well DANG KO which IS it?? are all Conservatives Racists, or are they Gay???? You keep projecting your own inner person onto others skippy and one day you'll just quietly go insane. It MIGHT be funny if it wasnt so absolutely pathetic...of course im sure now You'll go all Keyboard Commando and start making empty threats, but that does makes us laugh at you all the harder. I have news for you Mr Internet Tough Guy, you're nothing but Clown Shoes.

I'm not making empty threats. I'm trying to understand one of the most peculiar social trends in our post-post-modern society. If you want to organize some sort street fight, then I think you're the one with some unresolved issues. At least I use my initials. I spew this same crap on Facebook daily ... nobody calls me a "keyboard commando," however. They just realize it's mostly in jest. Obviously my post shows that I have an affection for homosexuals, and, therefore, I wouldn't be using "gay" as an insult anyway. if you want to physically assault me, though, you'll have to find me preaching in a bar or on a soapbox somewhere. in each place, though, it's still a crime, and you will be arrested.

cheers (european colloquialism),

KO

[Guest Guest]

Please feel free to enlighten us as to which Republican States are doing well in these in these harsh economic times.

Kintucky. See >> http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt...%26tbs%3Disch:1

[Guest 2smart4u]

I'm not making empty threats. I'm trying to understand one of the most peculiar social trends in our post-post-modern society. If you want to organize some sort street fight, then I think you're the one with some unresolved issues. At least I use my initials. I spew this same crap on Facebook daily ... nobody calls me a "keyboard commando," however. They just realize it's mostly in jest. Obviously my post shows that I have an affection for homosexuals, and, therefore, I wouldn't be using "gay" as an insult anyway. if you want to physically assault me, though, you'll have to find me preaching in a bar or on a soapbox somewhere. in each place, though, it's still a crime, and you will be arrested.

cheers (european colloquialism),

KO

You should be careful about spewing your far left nonsense in bars, some patriot might take offense.

[Guest Guest]

Kintucky. See >> http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt...%26tbs%3Disch:1

Classic!!!

[Guest Guest]

Wasn't it Christine Todd Whitman a Rep. who raided the public employees pension fund? and that is one of the main reasons it is under funded?

Whitman started it but all who followed had a hand in this disaster!

The only ones who have kept up their side of the deal are the public employees themselves, but they will be the ones who pay for it!

A version of this op-ed appeared in print on February 22, 1995, on page A19 of the New York edition.

Over the past 25 years the State of New Jersey has struggled, under a succession of Democratic and Republican governors, to reverse a social and economic decline that, by the 1960's, had hit many Northeastern

industrial areas.

Difficult budget decisions were made, often at significant political cost. But the benefits for New Jersey residents were many. A vastly improved higher education system was developed and state aid to local public

schools surged. The environment was cleaned up. Mass transit was improved. The state's budget was balanced without gimmicks and its credit rating was triple-A.

There is a strong link between those developments and the fact that New Jersey residents today are among the best educated in the country, and rank near the top in per-capita income.

Now many of the gains made over a quarter of a century are in danger of slipping away because the current Governor, Christine Todd Whitman, has chosen to finance her political ambitions with a popular buy-now,

pay-later economic policy that will place a financial stranglehold on future generations of New Jerseyans.

This is best illustrated by Mrs. Whitman's decision to withhold billions of dollars that should be going into the public employee pension funds over the next few years, and using the bulk of that money to balance the

state budget. Then, with an audacity that dazzles her supporters and even draws grudging admiration from opponents, Mrs. Whitman smiles and characterizes the withheld funds as savings.

Of course, they are not "savings" -- not in any sense of the word. The pension obligations at some point will come due and future generations will have to meet them.

Not only will the money have to be made up, but future taxpayers will be deprived of the income that the money -- if properly invested now -- would be expected to generate.

Mrs. Whitman's pension maneuvers have not gotten a lot of publicity -- in part because the eyes of reporters and readers alike tend to glaze over when confronted with complex budget details. The changes that she

has made have been drastic. According to the New Jersey Education Association, which has filed suit against the state, the employer contributions to the pension system this year will be as much as 96 percent below

the amounts contributed in the early 1990's.

By all accounts, the employer contributions have been reduced by nearly $1 billion a year. The Whitman administration insists that this is not a problem. Needless to say, others disagree.

"There is no question but that this is creating future debt," said Richard C. Leone, a former New Jersey State Treasurer who is now the president of the Twentieth Century Fund. "This is just another way of getting

around the balanced-budget requirement, a kind of deficit spending. It is the sort of thing that comes back to haunt you."

Until the changes adopted by Mrs. Whitman, New Jersey had been very conservative in its approach to its pension obligations. For example, the state had started to pre-fund the health care benefits of its retirees,

building up reserves against post-retirement liabilities. As one state official said: "That was prudent. Health-care costs are a big problem."

Prudent or not, Mrs. Whitman scrapped the pre-funding. She used the reserves that had already built up to help balance her budget. For Christine Todd Whitman, the pension funds have become a budget-balancing

machine.

Mrs. Whitman and the long-term interests of New Jersey appear to be at odds. The Governor won election by promising tax cuts, and any further advances in her career will be powered by her ability to "deliver" on

that promise. Like most politicians, her eyes are on the short term: today's budget, tomorrow's election. It requires courage to look beyond Election Day to the long-term interests of constituents.

Young men and women who were children in New Jersey 20 or 25 years ago are benefiting from the vision and courage of the politicians in power then, politicians who were not afraid to lead. They weren't perfect

but they had a sense of responsibility toward the generations growing up behind them. It's a quality that nowadays is in extremely short supply. And not just in New Jersey.

A version of this op-ed appeared in print on February 22, 1995, on page A19 of the New York edition.

[Guest Guest]

NJ's problems are because of our long-time democratic rule. The tax & spend mentality of the left is the reason NJ has the highest property taxes in the U.S. Christie has a huge task in front of him and people are going to suffer but the alternative of doing nothing is far worse. NJ's public pension system is grossly underfunded and without severe cuts they'll become insolvent. I support Christie and I hope he stays tough and does what needs to be done.

your2dumb2listen2thepast.

The saddest thing is that most of the mean-spirited union haters out there are the descendants of immigrants. Immigrants who fought long and hard to organize industrial unions in this country. People who risked everything so a future generation of ingrates could trash every last ounce of solidarity they built in a few short years. Their union ancestors must be rolling in their graves. The men and women that brought us the 8 hr. day, a safer workplace and an industrial middle class. A middle class that could work in a factory, support a family, and even send their kids to college. Send them to college so they could forget their real roots and who their benefactors really are. Send them to college so they could pass on to another generation the false idea that everything they gained was on merit. If you have any rights at all in your workplace you should get down on your knees and thank the labor movement. Industrial unions led the way in opposing European fascism, they were early champions of civil rights, and they provided the high wages and benefits that made the 1950's, when nearly 40% of nations workforce was union, one of the most prosperous decades in American history.

[Guest ko]

your2dumb2listen2thepast.

The saddest thing is that most of the mean-spirited union haters out there are the descendants of immigrants. Immigrants who fought long and hard to organize industrial unions in this country. People who risked everything so a future generation of ingrates could trash every last ounce of solidarity they built in a few short years. Their union ancestors must be rolling in their graves. The men and women that brought us the 8 hr. day, a safer workplace and an industrial middle class. A middle class that could work in a factory, support a family, and even send their kids to college. Send them to college so they could forget their real roots and who their benefactors really are. Send them to college so they could pass on to another generation the false idea that everything they gained was on merit. If you have any rights at all in your workplace you should get down on your knees and thank the labor movement. Industrial unions led the way in opposing European fascism, they were early champions of civil rights, and they provided the high wages and benefits that made the 1950's, when nearly 40% of nations workforce was union, one of the most prosperous decades in American history.

Viva socialism!

I laugh at saps like 2smart4u.

He thinks Capitalism could have ever worked.

It's a failed system.

By its nature, it has more winners than losers.

Then what?

Capitalism breeds greed.

Humans are inherently good, but Capitalism makes them bad.

Capitalism is not freedom; it's a sick dog-eat-dog game.

"I want your land... I want your land. "

"If i get all the land" --- NOTHING HAPPENS... "but i want

"it so bad"

This land is my land. It is not your land.

You ...

lose.

Every single time, SHEEP.

[Guest 2smart4u]

your2dumb2listen2thepast.

The saddest thing is that most of the mean-spirited union haters out there are the descendants of immigrants. Immigrants who fought long and hard to organize industrial unions in this country. People who risked everything so a future generation of ingrates could trash every last ounce of solidarity they built in a few short years. Their union ancestors must be rolling in their graves. The men and women that brought us the 8 hr. day, a safer workplace and an industrial middle class. A middle class that could work in a factory, support a family, and even send their kids to college. Send them to college so they could forget their real roots and who their benefactors really are. Send them to college so they could pass on to another generation the false idea that everything they gained was on merit. If you have any rights at all in your workplace you should get down on your knees and thank the labor movement. Industrial unions led the way in opposing European fascism, they were early champions of civil rights, and they provided the high wages and benefits that made the 1950's, when nearly 40% of nations workforce was union, one of the most prosperous decades in American history.

While unions were a necessary evil in the era of sweat shops, the pendulum has swung so far that they're now a deterrent to proper management. As an example, look at the NYC teachers union. Teachers that are not allowed to teach because of various offenses, some of them criminal, can't be suspended without pay (union rules) so they sit 8 hours a day in so-called rubber rooms, where they read, play on the internet or take naps. There are teachers sitting in these rubber rooms for as long as a year collecting full salary and benefits, while the union employs every stalling tactic in the books to prevent their cases from being decided.

Unions are a dying breed just because of these gross abusive union rules and they can't disappear quickly enough.

[Guest ko]

While unions were a necessary evil in the era of sweat shops, the pendulum has swung so far that they're now a deterrent to proper management. As an example, look at the NYC teachers union. Teachers that are not allowed to teach because of various offenses, some of them criminal, can't be suspended without pay (union rules) so they sit 8 hours a day in so-called rubber rooms, where they read, play on the internet or take naps. There are teachers sitting in these rubber rooms for as long as a year collecting full salary and benefits, while the union employs every stalling tactic in the books to prevent their cases from being decided.

Unions are a dying breed just because of these gross abusive union rules and they can't disappear quickly enough.

Unions exist to keep the abusive, corrupt members of the upper-class (from employers to politicians) in check; to enfranchise the lower class. They exist so Chris Christie can't bully teachers and egregiously strip them of salary and funding (while refusing to raise taxes on NJ super-rich upper-class). You can point to some isolated example from NYC (which I whole-heartedly defend as just), but watch how strong unions still are. Guess you don't read the Star-Ledger (oh yeah, you don't read print [out yeah, you don't read]). The NJEA is QUITE united against our haughty governor. But I mean, free education (which you're forced to participate in) is a Socialist program anyway... which somehow makes teachers Nazis (I used a Glenn Beck flowchart).

[Guest sure but...]

You should be careful about spewing your far left nonsense in bars, some patriot might take offense.

Unless it's a lesbian strip bar, then it will be repub national committee members spending gop campaign contributions

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/03/29...age-club-visit/

[Guest Guest]

Unless it's a lesbian strip bar, then it will be repub national committee members spending gop campaign contributions

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/03/29...age-club-visit/

The degenerate repubs would fit 2 smart's definition of patriots