I can answer that succulently. Yes he did lie. Did he lie about the bridge scandal? That one I can't answer for sure, but I can answer for sure that he did lie about the New Jersey pension scandal. Did I say scandal? Odd, nobody else did. It's called a "crisis" instead of a scandal. But really it is a scandal. If the Governor lying about his knowledge of the lane closures is considered a scandal, then the pension "crisis" is surely a scandal. The Governor lied to the police and fire unions, putting words in writing, and then did the opposite. Can you call this anything other than a lie? Sure. How about a "fabrication", or he was "just kidding" when he promised in writing not to change the pension of current or retired police and fire union members.
If there is so much fuss about the Governor possibly lying to the public about his part in the lane closures on the GW bridge, where we don't know for sure if he lied, then why is there no fuss about the fact that he clearly lied about the pension? Why is there no Assembly committee hearings and subpoenas about this like there are for the lane closures?
The bridge scandal, or "bridge-gate" as it is known as, began August 13, 2013 with an email exchange. On September 9th, two of three access lanes are shut for a "traffic study" that never was. We all know the story from there. But do you know the story of the pension scandal? You probably know some, since the Governor has been shoving it down the publics throats for years. The only thing is, you are only hearing what he is saying, which may or may not be the truth. Personally, I say it is not the truth.
The lane closures took about four hours from beginning to end. People were inconvenienced; some a little and some much more. But it only lasted four hours. The pension scandal, which I call "pension-gate", has been happening for decades, ever since Governor Whitman put her grubby little paws into the well funded police & fire pension fund, removed billions of dollars, and used this money for her own agenda. The money was never put back, and each and every Governor since her has done the same. Now the pension system is having major problems.
Pension-gate has affected thousands upon thousands, and cost people countless dollars. It has forced current officers to pay more into their pension, eliminated the cost of living increases for retired officers, and forced current officers to also pay for a portion of their medical insurance, when for decades the good benefits were the trade off for lower pay. I know some of you reading this might think "so what? I pay for my medical insurance, why shouldn't they?" Primarily because its a change of the rules mid-stream to fix a problem they didn't create. I have no problem if someone takes a job knowing what the rules are; knowing they will be paying a portion of their medical insurance. But changing the rules for current employees to fix a problem created by someone else is unjust. The police and fire unions did not cause this problem, even if the media wants you to believe they did. The union members are not "greedy and evil", but have paid their dues without so much as a hiccup. The government has not. Billions in missed pension payments were not the fault of the unions, but were the fault of the Governor. Lets not forget the 2% cap the Governor put on pay increases, while at the same time he gave many of his staff raises of up to 23% (http://www.northjersey.com/news/christie-staffers-get-hefty-pay-increases-as-other-areas-face-cuts-1.1025934).
The NJEA is taking some action. Take just a minute to read this link: http://www.njea.org/news/2014-05-22/take-action-to-protect-your-pension. Click the appropriate box for the type of pension you are in and submit as required. It only takes a minute. I have nothing to do with this, but felt it was a step in the right direction.
More action will be needed. More attention needs to be put on the fact that this is a scandal, not a crisis.
Thoughts? Comments?
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