TRENTON, NJ — It seems like the gravy train of spending at the trough has come to an end for New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy who is now calling for budget cuts and pay freezes.
The spending spree couldn’t go on forever, according to one opponent int he New Jersey State Senate.
Governor Phil Murphy’s recent directive for state departments to slash spending by 5% has sparked criticism from Republicans, who argue that the fiscal strain was both foreseeable and avoidable.
Senator Michael Testa (R-1) criticized the spending cuts as a delayed response to what he called years of unchecked fiscal policy by Democrats in Trenton. “Governor Murphy didn’t need a crystal ball to recognize that dire straits were on New Jersey’s horizon – he simply could have listened to my Republican colleagues and I in the Legislature,” Testa said in a statement on Sunday.
The spending reduction order, issued last week, comes as New Jersey grapples with mounting budget pressures. Testa contends that Republican proposals for “moderate spending restraints” could have mitigated the current financial challenges but were dismissed in favor of what he described as a “seven-year-long spending binge.”
Murphy has yet to publicly respond to Republican criticisms, though his administration has cited national economic uncertainty and rising costs as factors contributing to the state’s tightening budget.
Testa, however, dismissed those explanations, urging the governor to adopt GOP cost-saving measures.
Testa added, “If Governor Murphy truly wants to fix the mess he’s created, he would embrace Republican cost-saving proposals — but we’d probably have a better chance of convincing Hannibal Lecter to give up meat for Lent.”