Sample letter to the editor – NJ State Budget FY 2013

Make Kids Count Most in State Budget

More and more New Jersey families are slipping into poverty. New data from Advocates for Children of New Jersey show that nearly one in three New Jersey children is growing up in a family that earns too little to meet the child’s basic needs.

This poverty infects all aspects of a child’s well-being. It will likely take years for many of these families to get back on their feet. A full-time job with a steady paycheck, health insurance and retirement benefits is no longer the norm.

Yet we, as a state, have cut investments in critical assistance that can help these families regain firm financial footing and provide for their children, including a $42 million reduction in child care spending, as the waiting list for assistance has grown 250 percent to more than 10,000 eligible children.

As state lawmakers debate Governor Christie’s proposed state budget, they should remember that behind every statistic is a real child. We must restore cuts to child care assistance, school breakfast and tax credits for low-income workers.

The way the state spends its fiscal resources is probably one of the best measures of our priorities. Children should be at the top of the list.

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