Quote Of Note: The Ultimate Public Pension Reform

It seems Chris Christie sat down with the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal recently, which means that the Governor has been getting even more press from the WSJ than usual. For example, the Governor's plan to eliminate teacher tenure was prominently featured in an article by Lisa Fleischer.

And last Friday, assistant editorial page editor James Freeman published a love note to the Governor's public pension reform plans. The editorial included the following quote:

"The ultimate reform is to move to a 401(k)-style [public pension] plan that provides transparency to taxpayers while allowing government employees -- not politicians or union bosses -- to control their retirement savings with individual accounts. How to enact such reform in New Jersey? 'You get a Republican legislature, that's how you do it,' says Christie. 'I'm dealing in a context where the Democratic Party in my state has been ruled by the public-sector unions.'"

This line of reasoning brings back fond memories of George W. Bush's plan to privatize Social Security by diverting Social Security taxes into private accounts. At the time, critics viewed the plan as a giveaway to Wall Street, which would end up managing Social Security funds on a for-profit basis. Of course, this was before the Great Recession made it clear that there is real risk in relying on the marketplace for retirement funds.

So, in addition to his expansion of executive power by absorbing the Medicaid Inspector General and Inspector General into the executive branch of the State government, and his plan to absorb county prosecutors into the Attorney General's office, the Governor has now found another way to show his affinity for the Bush-Cheney-Rove faction of the Republican party -- handing government pensions to Wall Street.

The Wall Street Journal Says Liberals Killed The ARC Tunnel

According to the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal, "Chris Christie sure has a knack" for shocking the political class on behalf of taxpayers. Christie struck a blow for taxpayers by cancelling the ARC Tunnel because of cost overruns. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was "stunned."

States the Journal:

"The [ARC] tunnel flap is a microcosm of the crowding out of public works caused by liberal governance around the country. In New York State, bridges like the Tappan Zee over the Hudson River are in desperate need of repair . . . The 6th Street Bridge in Los Angeles needs repair and earthquake retrofitting, but Sacramento is busted."

First of all, New York had a Republican governor from 1995 to 2007, and the mayor of New York City before independent Mike Bloomberg was Rudy Giuliani. And California has had Republican governors since 1991. So how can this be a liberal phenomenon?

It's the public employee unions, of course. The public employee unions have a stranglehold on state government, and are sucking the transportation infrastructure repair money out of the states in the form of pensions and health benefits and wage increases. See, it's public employee unions against taxpayers again -- that's the underlying meaning.

Second of all, the taxpayers whose property values will rise as a result of the ARC Tunnel are not being well served by the Governor. The taxpayers who pay for road maintenance are not being well served by the Governor, who is doing nothing to get cars off of the road. The taxpayers who breathe the air are not being served, either.

Third of all, Chris Christe cancelled the ARC tunnel to pull the press out of the room where Bret Schundler was throwing the Governor under the bus. Basically, Christie panicked and killed a deal with the NJEA that he knew about because he did not like the press he was getting. Then, when he was about the get more bad press about his previous panic, Christie panicked again and prematurely pulled the plug on the ARC Tunnel. And somehow that's a model of good choices in government.

It seems Chris Christie can't pass gas without the Wall Street Journal finding the Governor refreshing.

Quote Of Note: The Most Famous Careerist In All The Land

In recent days, I have heard reports that Clifford Janey, Newark’s School Superintendent, may be out of a job. Janey is 2 years into a 3 year contract. However, Newark schools are under the jurisdiction of the Governor, which means that Chris Christie is Clifford Janey’s boss. And for reasons as yet unstated, Governor Christie has let it be known that, not only may Janey’s contract not be renewed, it may be terminated early.

I had filed this fact away as an interesting yet innocuous tidbit until I read an editorial in Today’s Wall Street Journal about Michelle Rhee, Schools Chancellor for Washington, D.C. Ms. Rhee has just concluded a negotiation with American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten which has resulted in a noteworthy new contract. Among other terms, this new contract includes:

1. An abolition of “lock-step” pay;
2. The implementation of a voluntary performance-based compensation system;
3. Changes in tenure rules which allows bad teachers to be fired more easily and marginal teachers to be placed on probation for 2 years.

So what does this have to do with New Jersey? The WSJ editorial provides the following:

“Unfortunately, most school chancellors are careerists who don’t want to upset the unions because they are always looking for their next job. One example: Clifford Janey, whom Ms. Rhee replaced in D.C., went on to become the superintendent in Newark, N.J. whose schools may be worse than D.C.’s. Ms. Rhee, by contrast, came to her job as an outsider willing to endure the considerable abuse that the unions and their political backers threw at her.”

And so it seems that the Wall Street Journal has blessed, if not outright suggested, the replacement of Clifford Janey with an outsider who will take on the unions.

But here’s the thing. Newark teachers are not represented by the NJEA, which is adamantly opposed to merit pay and changes in tenure. The teachers union in Newark is the Newark Teachers Union, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers. Joseph Del Grosso, President of the NTU, has already gone on record as saying he is in favor of merit pay and is open to negotiation on tenure and seniority. In fact, Mr. Del Grosso did so in the Wall Street Journal.

So it seems to me that we have political theater in the making, courtesy of the Wall Street Journal and Chris Christie. Clifford Janey is being singled out as a “careerist” who must go to make room for an education industry novice. And when that novice reaches an agreement with the NTU that includes merit pay and changes to tenure rules, the Wall Street Journal and the Governor will trumpet a victory over the status quo, a victory over public employee unions and a victory over “careerists” everywhere -- conveniently overlooking the fact that the key concessions were made during Janey’s time on the job.

The Wall Street Journal has already proclaimed Chris Christie a national hero on its editorial page. But this incident seems to suggest a certain give and take between the editorial staff and the Governor that bears watching. I just find it difficult to believe that, of all the public school “careerists” in the land, the Wall Street Journal chose to make an example of the same superintendent the Governor wants to replace.