$812 million in spending reductions
SRAP funding reduced by $47 million
Governor Jon Corzine released on January 5, 2009, a list of $812 million in spending reductions as part of a larger set of solutions to close an estimated $2.1 billion dollar shortfall in the current state budget. Click here to review the full list.
“These reductions reflect an unprecedented, painstaking process in which every department’s budget was scrutinized on a line by line basis”, said State Treasure David Rousseau. He also stated; “Given the state of the economy, we are prepared to continue this process should fiscal conditions warrant further cuts.”
Besides the $47 million dollar reduction is the State Rental Assistance Program (SRAP), other cuts include $15 million in municipal aid and $75 million in public school aid. Some of the spending cuts will require legislative approval.
The reductions also include a freeze on pay raises for all State employees and use of $275 million of the State’s surplus. The budget plan also uses $500 million dollars from the Long Term Debt Reduction Fund. This fund, which was set up to pay down the debt is only funded for $650 million The proposal also counts on an anticipated $300 million from a federal stimulus package.
Welfare and food stamps don’t stretch very far; food stamps provide an average of $1 a meal per person, and the cash grant from welfare hasn’t been raised since 1987, topping out at $322 a month for a parent with two children.
Food stamp applications doubled and welfare applications rose 40 percent in October; Includes a slice of the middle class
As if we were not aware of the rapidly rising tide of families and individuals at risk of homelessness, the Star-Ledger confirmed the news in a front page article on Sunday January 4, 2009’s New Jersey Section. The article - Applications for welfare, food stamps are way up - highlighted a problem that is all too familiar. To read the full article click here.
The Rev. Bruce Davidson, a member of the Advocacy Network’s Steering Committee and the director of the Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministry, noted the tension between the “the working poor and people trying to get off public assistance.” He is quoted as saying: “The October numbers relate at some level to the whole fact there is unemployment in the state. Because of that, people who are working lower- or middle-income jobs are sometimes taking employment opportunities from those trying to go from welfare to work. That means there are fewer lower-paying jobs available; they don’t find anything, so they go on welfare.”
Connie Mercer Executive Director of HomeFront is quoted as well on the middle income impact of the increased demand. She stated that “each and every week, we have some people come in who want us to know they were donors last year and they never thought they would be in this position.”
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