New Jersey Star-Ledger, March 24, 2008: Working families struggle, despite NJ’s overall wealth
New Jersey is the nation’s second wealthiest state, but 20 percentof its working families don’t earn enough money to adequately supportthemselves, a report found.
The analysis by the Rutgers Center for Women and Work and New JerseyPolicy Perspective found 200,000 Garden State families with a workingadult earn too little in pay and benefits to be self-sufficient at atime when proposed state budget cuts threaten to reduce services forthe poor.
“New Jersey is a tale of two states,”said Eileen Appelbaum, the director at the Rutgers center. “On the onehand, we have a large number of highly educated members of the workforce who are doing well, but this report makes clear that there arealso hundreds of thousands of working adults who lack the skills,training and opportunity to adequately support themselves.”
The Economic Policy Institute said a family of four requires incomeranging from $49,572 to $57,144 to be self-sufficient, depending onwhere in the state they live.
The study focused on families of four that earn less than $39,942,or twice the federal poverty level. It found the state has 16 percentmore of such families since 2000, with those 200,000 familiesaccounting for 750,000 people.
The state has about 8.7 million residents, who earn, on average,$46,344, ranking New Jersey behind only Connecticut for income percapita and 28 percent above the U.S. average.
Jon Shure, president of the liberal-leaning NJPP, noted the reportcomes as Democratic Gov. Jon S. Corzine proposes a $33 billion budgetwith $2.7 billion in spending cuts to key programs, including severalthat help the poor and elderly.
“As the state faces shortsighted budget cuts, the message of thisreport is more important than ever,” Shure said. “This is wake-up callthat says we need to invest, not cut, to build a secure future and aprosperous state.”
The report proposes:
— Increasing the state minimum wage from $7.15 to $8.50 an hour and adjusting it yearly.
— Approving paid work leave to give low-income families flexibility to handle emergencies.
— Expanding eligibility for a state-run health insurance program for the working poor.
— Expanding child care assistance and adult education courses.
— Targeting more higher education aid to low-income working adults.
— Helping welfare recipients not just find work, but jobs that let them become self-sufficient.