[caption id=”attachment_135858″ align=”aligncenter” width=”3000″]New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File)
[/caption]
New Jersey’s Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday in favor of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) $1.6 billion cut in pension funding.
According to Reuters, this decision will relieved the cash-strapped state temporarily and breathe some new life into Christie’s fledging presidential ambitions.
The court sided 5-2 against the public sector unions, stating that the pension program was not a contractual obligation entitled to constitutional protections.
“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. But this Court cannot resolve that need in place of the political branches,” wrote Justice Jaynee LaVecchia in her opinion.
Christie’s decision to make the cuts came out of necessity due to a massive revenue shortfall. New Jersey’s pension system is currently holding nearly $83 billion in unfunded liabilities and was only funded 44 percent in fiscal year 2014.
Since 2010, when Christie became governor, New Jersey’s credit score has been downgraded nine times. Standard & Poor’s said the state is at risk for future downgrades if it does not get its fiscal house in order.
