New Jersey, in financial straits, prepares for shared sacrifice

    New Jersey Governor Chris Christie says the budget plan he’ll unveil next week will call for shared sacrifice. And he says he won’t be able to alter a deal his predecessor made with state workers.

    New Jersey Governor Chris Christie says the budget plan he’ll unveil next week will call for shared sacrifice. And he says he won’t be able to alter a deal his predecessor made with state workers.

    Christie told local officials in Haddon Heights every program in state government will probably have cuts. However, he says he won’t be able to layoff state workers this year.

    Christie now says he was wrong to say during his campaign when he said he could change the state employee contract negotiated by former Governor Jon Corzine.

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    Christie: I was wrong. My lawyers have now told me that I am bound by that deal. So that was during the campaign when it was what I thought should be true. Now I know what’s true. I was wrong. So now I’ve got to figure out a way to try to work with it.

    Corzine’s agreement with the unions delayed a 3.5% pay raise for 18 months in exchange for employees taking furlough days and being promised no layoffs through the end of this year.

    Christie says the budget he’ll propose will anger some people, but he says the cuts will be fair.

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