As poverty rises in NJ, cuts target aid

When "Casino Gambling" was approved by New Jersey voters, it was promoted to 'end poverty' and pave the streets with gold.

Instead, state government became addicted to gambling revenues, mismanaged budgets and spent like there was no end in sight.

And now, the poorest among us are expected to bear the costs.

As poverty rises in NJ, cuts target aid

Written by MICHAEL SYMONS STATEHOUSE BUREAU TRENTON — Poverty is rising, demand for food stamps has rocketed and the job market remains tepid at best, more than three years after the economy began to crater.

Bruce Springsteen Letter to the Editor: Story on poverty, aid cuts gives voice to voiceless

Thank you for your March 27 front-page story by Michael Symons, "As poverty rises, cuts target aid." The article is one of the few that highlights the contradictions between a policy of large tax cuts, on the one hand, and cuts in services to those in the most dire conditions, on the other. Also, you've shone some light on anti-poverty workers and analysts such as Adele LaTourette, Meara Nigro, Cecilia Zalkind and Raymond Castro, among others, all of whom have something important to add to the discussion: real information and actual facts about what is happening below the poverty line. These are voices that in our current climate are having a hard time being heard, not just in New Jersey, but nationally. Finally, your article shows that the cuts are eating away at the lower edges of the middle class, not just those already classified as in poverty, and are likely to continue to get worse over the next few years. I'm always glad to see my hometown newspaper covering these issues.

Bruce Springsteen

COLTS NECK