Mirage: NJ Senate Dems See Surplus That Isn't There

Why Won’t NJ Democrat Leaders Allow Senators to Talk About the Real Surplus?  

Maybe It's Because That the Money Isn’t There.

SHOT

“Eric, the reason why we can override some of these votes is because there’s a $640 million surplus now, the money is there.” –Senate President Steve Sweeney (Interview with NJ101.5’s Eric Scott, 7/6/11)

“Bruce, because the money’s there now. …Well there’s $640 million in surplus. …So we have no problem having, saying that the money is there, because it is.” –Senate President Steve Sweeney (Interview with FOX29 Philadelphia, 7/7/11)

CHASER

“…Treasurer Andrew Eristoff said Monday that Democrats underfunded several programs in the budget they sent Christie, so the state can expect to end the fiscal year next June with about $365 million on hand.” (Angela Delli Santi, Senate Fails to Reverse NJ Gov's Budget Vetoes, Associated Press, 7/11/11)

BEWARE THE DEMS’ RHETORIC ON THE SURPLUS

Monday on the Senate floor, State Senate President Steve Sweeney shut down talk of the Democrats’ surplus figures. Why? Maybe it's because Legislative Democrats continue to mislead New Jerseyans. Democrats claim there is an endless supply of money available and, at the first sign of real growth, want to revert back to the old ways of spending without regard for the consequences. While the Governor has made serious progress over the last 18 months, with bipartisan support, to right New Jersey’s fiscal course, Democrats in the legislature are embracing a seismic reversal to Trenton’s unrepentant addiction to spending.

The Democrats believe the budget surplus is $640 million when the reality is that this does not account for programs that still need to be paid for. It’s history repeating as Democrats ignore reality and play a shell game with the surplus and revenue figures, all in order to put forward a fantasy budget that promises everything to everyone.

The real surplus is under $400 million, at approximately $365 million.

Simply put, there are programs that must be paid for that the Democrats did not account for in the budget they passed, making it possible for them to achieve a higher, artificial surplus and mislead the public about what can and cannot be funded. The reality is that this money is headed out the door:

· $165 million underfunding of the State Health Benefits account because of the Legislature's failure to account for a lesser level of savings from the recently enacted reform package;

· $50 million in health benefit savings based on an unverified plan by an outside consultant that has not yet been adopted;

· $30 million in debt service that was not fully funded in the Democrats’ budget;

· $30 million that will go out the door starting next week in order to fund the real cost of providing additional property tax relief through the Senior and Disabled Citizens Freeze, not accounted for in the Democrats’ budget.