http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/02/nj_supreme_court_to_decide_leg.html

As far as I know, yes.

This is the last stop.

So the courts are saying we dont care what the state can or cannot afford, you must do this or that?


If so, Christie needs to just run the state off the cliff early in his term and then rebuild it.

I'm starting to think countries where the Military is considered the guardian of last resort of the national interest is better than our system where the Courts occupy that role.  

PLEASE somebody buy my house!!!!!! I need out, Ive had to put up with this garbage state filled with pudding headed voters. This state has been so damn screwed. Its run by incompetent corrupt statist ball lickers.

What the court basically is doing is substituting their own version of reallity. If Christie was the great bloated hope that people claim; he would declare NJ BANKRUPT, which it has been for years. Then renegotiate all contracts and void pensions. Yes go screw if you collect a pension as a NJ state worker or teacher. Im sick of paying for you to run off to florida and collect 65k a year. Yes you worked 35hrs a week for 20years and had 2 months vacation each year . Heres a cookie, go fuck yourself.

Then Christie and his "evil conservative" agenda will be blamed for fucking up NJ and not the "do it for the children" mentality.  I think he would be slightly better off if he stands by his decision and fights em tooth and nail.

With a sales pitch like that, where do I sign?

+1

The Courts are just trying to train-track the state into a tax increase.  It's disgusting.

The elites really are dropping their masks - we're nothing more than serfs to them and they aren't even bothering to hide it anymore.

Yes, and no.  There's a difference between saying "we can't comply" and "compliance will be really hard".  The first might be grounds for relief; the second not so much.

At least it isnt California

The law's the law.

"Long has made his decision, now let him enforce it"

Was just about to post that..

This is EXACTLY the sort of thinking that precedes a military coup in many countries around the world.


Steve

9/10 on the rant.  Needs more of the "statist ball lickers" telling the serfs to work harder to be perfect.

Sounds like NJ needs an ammendment to their state constitution limiting the courts authority in matters of finance.

Must be nice to be a judge; never having to deal with 'reality', and just making up 'legality', sounds fun.

If education is mandated by the State Constitution like it is in NC, you just have to cut something else.  As you get other expenses down, the education line would be more fair game.

All other things being equal, I'd rather have the Military forcing tax increases to buy more fighter jets and tanks than the Courts forcing tax increases to finance public sector pensions.

Both are shitty though.

NJ Schools are run by criminals. Excellent movie on the subject:

The Cartel

How do you prove that when the urbanites haven't improved in test scores but the cost per pupil is gone up to 20K per student....

We have to provide an education. It's not required that it "sticks."

There are two likely situations at play here: 1) (unlikely) the courts have mandated that X money be spent. Well, ok, pass a law that overrides that. 2) (likely) the state constitution mandates that X money be spent. Well, tough. Try to amend the constitution or suck it up.

That's my read on it. But even so, I think that's doable. Examples of performing schools on tighter budgets, less inflated salaries, etc. Prove that it can be done and prove that Christie has a plan to get it done.

 

I can't find anything in the state constitution that mandates that X be spent.

He could start by explicitly stating that any cuts come from administration and other dead-weight overhead, and not anything that has any direct classroom impact.



It sounds like after he's done that, he should find further savings in the judiciary payroll...  





 

Imagine if they could only collect if they remained in NJ...

If the justices read it to say that, you still have to amend.

They tried this shit in Florida a few years back. Get the courts to mandate a certain amount of money be spent on education. Brilliant fucking idea.

Notice they don't tell you what they cut it from to.   Fucking hack journalists.

Judges and lawyers will be what destroys this country.





Except for Aimless.

Reading between the lines:

Lets stop pissing money away on the urban yutes in Camden, Atlantic City, and Bayonne, NJ. Its an investment the yields little, if any, return.

Good on you, Chris Christie!

States cannot declare bankrupty and be absolved of its debts like a person.

Some of my roads in Central N could use a good plow driver right about now...

Why doesn't Christie just cut the pay of the State Supreme Court judges by, lets say, 80% and take away their retirement funding? Just tell them he's going to shift those funds to the schools.

Your avatar and this picture just go together... Peanutbutter and Jelly.

Maybe if there wasn't 3 different public schools in every 1/2 square mile town in this state, it wouldn't be an issue.  I mean seriously, if you drive up and down the highways of this state, you'll go through 10 different towns for every 30 miles  you drive.  Each one of those towns has its own school district, superintendent, 3 to 5 public schools, a principal for each, some even have a superintendent and principal for each, a set of teachers in every room, building maintenance personnel, extra curricular expenses...  I'm all for shared services in this state, but Police and Fire is not where it should start.  It should start where it will have the most financial impact and the least negative impact on the tax payers and that's clearly in the dam schools.  The employees are paid more, they have higher levels of benefits and the costs to maintain the redundant system is exponential.  Combine the school districts, reduce the amount of actual buildings, reduce the amount of staff and you ultimately reduce the amount of redundant funding.  

State employees are not all to blame for this mess either.  It has a lot to do with the decades of pilfering, self serving politics that allowed government to rob the state's line items blind, one at a time.  Don't think for one dam minute that any of our great judges, house members, senators, congressman, etc... are hurting for a meal or worried about their futures.  Hell, Chris Christie appears as if he hasn't missed a fuckin meal in his entire life.  These people are getting richer while they rob this state blind and then spin the media to make everyone think the state's line level and lower paid employees are completely to blame.  They've made most of this states sadly uninformed sheepish population believe that Cops, Fireman and Teachers are the reason the state's broke.  They took the bait hook line and sinker and now think its ok to pay the same amount for half as much.  They've got this state convinced that reducing the amount of service providers you have will result in the same service, but you don't see any money coming back to you in the form of tax cuts, that's for dam sure.  Just less for more, that's what Christie and his cronies have shoveled fed this state and they ate it up!  Is there duplication of service and way too many citizens on the state's payroll, absolutely, but the larger problem lies way up top where the dollar figure is a hell of a lot higher and the reasons for payment are down right criminal.

NJ Constitution says the schools must get funding as the court see's fit.

Wow. That is a state controlled by the corrupt teachers unions

If they want to change it, they will have to change their constitution first. Easier said than done.

I'll just leave this here...

That's a hell of a job title.

How many armies does this judge have.  Christie should tell him to stick his decision up his ass then arrest him.

I know, but a man can dream...

I am guessing, based on the info in the quote, that there is a permanent decree from that 30 year-old case, with a special master already in place to receive evidence on compliance issues. Appellate courts al;most never hear evidence, even in cases over which they have original jurisdiction. In other words, there was not a new case over what I take to be underfunding of schools in violation of the antique decree.

Banana Republic style



New Jersey seems to need its Special Master



 

Takes control away from the people entirely, doesn't it?

Just because a court rules something doesn't make it the law or in conformance with the law.  Unless Christie violated the State Constitution or something he should just tell the court to go screw itself if he loses the case.

In banana republics.



In our country, "just because a court rules on something" does in fact make it the law and in conformance with the law.