'We must reverse the damage caused by fairy-tale promises that have fattened benefits and pensions to unsustainable levels."

Jillian Bandes | September 16, 2010 8:37 AM

Now that the lovely Meredith is no longer with us, I feel obligated to take up the mantle of Chris-Christie-adoration. This time, he's giving public employees the boot, who are straining the state's retirement funds and wreaking havoc on the budget.

These public employees are applying for retirement in droves, party because of the economy and party because they're anticipating the major changes Christie is making to the way things are done in New Jersey. They include:

- repealing an increase in benefits approved years ago
- eliminating automatic cost-of-living adjustments
- raising the retirement age to 65 from 60 in many cases
- reducing pension payouts for many future retirees
- requiring some employees to contribute more to their pensions

If nothing is done, the $46 billion gap between what the New Jersey treasury has and what it owes will only get larger.