Republican Gov. Chris Christie gave New Jersey business leaders a pep talk — and issued a warning — from Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.
Christie addressed hundreds of lobbyists, lawmakers and members of the business community during the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce's annual trek to the nation's capital. In a 35-minute address that sounded a lot like a stump speech by the possible 2016 presidential candidate, he touted some fiscal accomplishments of his first term, such as lowering the rate of property tax increases and providing tax breaks to attract and keep businesses.
But, with New Jersey among the most indebted states and Wall Street rating agencies expressing concerns about its economic outlook, Christie acknowledged that more needs to be done.
The second-term governor struck some familiar fiscal themes, such as the need to make further changes to public workers' retirement benefits and re-adopt a 2 percent cap on raises to police officers and firefighters who take their contracts to arbitration.
He mentioned Detroit's bankruptcy filing and warned that dire consequences would result for New Jersey if the Legislature fails to act.
"What's happening in the Legislature right now, in my opinion they are just scared," Christie said, before adding, "It's time to dig in and make a few people unhappy so the greater good can be achieved."
Changes to public worker benefits enacted during Christie's first term raised the cost of pensions and health care for employees while requiring the state to phase in its yearly contribution to the retirement system after years of skipping the payment.
The fix was designed to be long term. But Christie now points to a record payment of $2.25 billion he's required to make in next year's state budget and an unfunded liability that still tops $50 billion and says the changes didn't go far enough.
Democrats say the prior reforms, which were fought bitterly by public-sector unions, have put the retirement system on the road to fiscal solvency.
Christie also urged the Democrat-led Assembly to re-adopt the cap on arbitration awards that expired on April 1.
The Legislature sent Christie a bill extending the cap, but he conditionally vetoed it, striking provisions allowing raises of up to 3 percent in certain circumstances and exempting bargaining units that had negotiated raises within the cap before the laws expired.
The Senate quickly accepted the changes; the Assembly has not voted. Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto, a Democrat, has said he wants a compromise that saves taxpayers and protects public servants.
Christie has been trying to rebound from a scandal in which some former aides intentionally blocked traffic near the George Washington Bridge to retaliate against a Democratic mayor. Investigations by the U.S. attorney's office and a state legislative committee are underway.
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The dinner started with a rendition of "Happy Birthday" sung to former Gov. Brendan Byrne, who recently celebrated his 90th. It also included a recollection of Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who died last year at age 89.
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