Governor Christie's Fourth Of July Celebration

It looks like New Jersey's favorite one ton son is feeling his oats.

That's actually a nice change from him grazing on them.

I'm not sure the state Legislature, the majority of large city Mayors, child advocates, senior citizens, and even some of his long time supporters agree with that "nice change".

In what can be described as either a man cashing in on what he perceives as his greatest political victory or alternately, as a "fat kid throwing a temper tantrum" for the Legislature daring to restore cuts to his aggressive budget, Governor Christie certainly wasted no time in stirring up a hornet's nest with his final budget approval.

Using his ability to "line item veto" certain provisions of the Legislature's spending draft, the non-candidate for President of the United States cut into the Budget like "Jack the Ripper" at a hooker convention.

Still stinging from an earlier loss handed him by the New Jersey Supreme Court over funding for poorer school districts, it seems the Governor was more than happy to cut into the budgets of his perceived foes:

- Transitional Urban Aid: Cut from $149 million in his first proposal, down to less than $10 million.

- College Tuition Grants: Cut completely the amount proposed by the Legislature and the total amount from his first proposal.

- Child Care: Cut $3 million restored by the Legislature for after school programs, costing the State an additional $4 million in private matching monies.

- Medicaid: Cut $500 million in Medicaid requiring the elderly and disabled to use the services of HMO's. It also limits enrollees to those making one third of the "poverty rate" wages to be eligible.

- Nursing Homes: Cut $37.5 million from nursing homes in the form of Medicaid payments and subsidies for beds left empty while patients are in hospitals. Add in a loss of $37.5 million in the form of Federal matching funds for a total of $75 million.

- Legislative Cuts: Cut $3.7 million from the budgets of the Assembly and Legislature. Watch the sparks fly over this one.

- Museums: Blocked the Legislature's move to fund directly the Battleship New Jersey museum, the Old Barracks museum, and the Newark museum from the general budget of $16 million.

Nice touch on the Governor's part to veto/sign the budget right at the start of the holiday weekend.

The Governor wasn't available for comment to us here at the blog, but we did obtain a copy of his private celebration held at the Governor's mansion yesterday:



Until the next time, all y'all take care of yourselves.

Air Traffic Mike, ret.