Court: Christie Can Slash Pensions

The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Chris Christie has the right to cut billions of dollars from the state’s public pensions, in a major win for the governor. The ruling overturned a lower-court decision that would have forced Christie to close a $1.5 billion pension shortfall with budget cuts and tax increases. “That the state must get its financial house in order is plain. The need is compelling in respect of the state’s ability to honor its compensation commitment to retired employees,” the court’s majority wrote. “But this court cannot resolve that need in place of the political branches. They will have to deal with one another to forge a solution to the tenuous financial status of New Jersey’s pension funding in a way that comports with the strictures of our constitution.”