Accroding to the Star Ledger, New Jersey State Employees will be paid retroactively, whether they work or not, during the shutdown, “unless the Legislature votes to withhold that money”.

State Senator Stephen M. Sweeney (D-3), Chairman of the Senate Labor Committee, views this as an “outrage”.

Once again, this Governor is protecting those who have nothing at stake in the process while the taxpayers assume the entire burden.

It’s really simple: Those who work deserve to be paid; those who don’t work shouldn’t be paid.

It’s time for the Governor to listen to the people I speak with every day at the convenience stores and diners – people who don’t get anything close to the deals these state employees get with double the vacation days of those in the private sector, 35-hour work-weeks, little or no co-pays or contributions to the increased costs of health care – and they’re all telling me enough is enough! The citizens of this state have reached a breaking point.

First he wants to force a sales tax increase down the throats of taxpayers to pay for more bloated state government that none of us can afford. Now he wants to give state employees a retroactive paid holiday so they don’t have to feel the pain everyone else has to feel.

It’s time for the Governor to honor his promises from last year’s campaign to cut out-of-control state spending. It’s time for him to stand up for the taxpayers who deserve a break from financing bigger state government. The culture of entitlement in Trenton needs a wake-up call.

Sweeney is an outlier among the democrats in the legislature, where they are busy trying to find ways that are less obvious than a sales tax incrase to fund the Governor’s budget, which increases spending by 9.2% at a time when the state is awash in red ink.

Obviously, things are not going well in Trenton, and it seems that no matter how it shakes out, the taxpayers lose.

Enlighten-New Jersey is posting regularly on the ongoing disgrace.

Jersey Blogger and former Battlewagon sailor, Ken at SmadaNek, is following an absolutely amazing event. It is the Shepherd Ocean Fours Rowing Race. On June 10th, four teams (one from the U.S. and three from the U.K.) of four men each left New York harbor in special rowboats (the American boat is pictured above) with the goal of seeing which team can row to Falmouth, U.K. in the shortest amount of time.

It’s a 3,100 mile trip, and they have been at it for 23 days now. According to Ken, the U.S. Team, the OAR Northwest, is currently in the lead.

Do these guys have grit, or what?