After a brief shutdown over 4th of July weekend, the New Jersey’s legislature hammered out an agreement and sent a final budget to Gov. Christie’s desk for him to sign. This will be his last before he is term limited out, and it leaves a familiar stamp on the state’s pension funds, as the total contributions are only about half of what is actuarially required.
Though, to read the press release from the Governor’s office you’d think he was the nation’s biggest pension hero, instead of the perennial pension underfunder that is suggested by the facts. The statement is so remarkable that we felt the need to mark it up with some commentary on what is actually going on in New Jersey: