It strikes me, however, that declaring an emergency would be a good risk nevertheless. It would be an exact foil to the recent crisis and the federal takeovers – a Reaganite reply, if you will. It would be a great reflection of the present Zeitgeist, as the federal expansion was in its (very recent) day. At the same time, a Reaganite revolution in NJ would lay the foundation for NJ's lasting economic health, and would thus very likely gain a lastingly good reputation where the feds' TARP and such have become increasingly covered in ignominy.

Gregg - I agree that civil service reform is fundamental to getting NJ back on track. I earlier wrote on this as a way to combat official corruption in NJ. Taking the Reaganite conceit a bit further, could we perhaps envision a Christie-public union showdown like that between Reagan and the air-traffic controllers back in the day? At a minimum, it would be a joy to behold triple-pension holders publicly demanding that their privileges continue, and the public reaction thereto.