In another sign that this economic crisis may be deepening here in New Jersey food stamp applications doubled and TANF applications jumped 60 percent in October compared to last year's numbers.Food Stamps provide an average of $1 per meal per person for people on this entitlement program. And TANF (Temporary Aid to Needy Families) not Welfare, the article continues to call the entitlement program Welfare, has not been raised since 1987 in New Jersey (and probably most states) and is $322 per month for a parent with two children, according to the article. Eat your heart out Citibank!
This shows how deeply people may be hurting, however and is a bad sign for our economy. Over the first 11 months of 2008, 34,400 jobs disappeared in New Jersey. The November unemployment rate is at 6.1 percent, up from 4.2 percent this time last year, according to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development website.
Barack Obama is trying to push through a stimulus package with Congress for the moment he steps into office on January 20th. It is a good start for the President-elect, no doubt, but we need a new outlook on the way we fund government and they way we view entitlement programs. A family of three in need is allowed $322 per month (with possible housing costs as well) and the banks receive bail outs in the amount of $700 billion.
Are our priorities really that skewed?
No comments:
Post a Comment