The New Face Of Welfare

The financial tide is changing in New Jersey- especially for the struggling middle class.

More than ever, families that once considered themselves 'affluent' or even 'comfortable' are now clipping coupons, scouring thrift stores to save money on clothing or household necessities or ::gasp:: applying for state assistance.

And what's prompting this shift from one of the nation's wealthiest states?

A report from the New York Times gives some insight to this problem.  Apparently, New Jersey has lost nearly 7,000 jobs and its unemployment rate has risen to 5.9 percent according to the Department of Labor.  The report further states,

New Jersey's economy has already slipped into reverse. Its biggest employers have stopped hiring, and some have started firing. Its unemployment rate is rising fast, and the values of its houses are falling even faster. The state government is grappling with a projected budget shortfall of $1.7 billion, and some of its most affluent counties and towns are reducing services as tax revenue declines. 

These changes are having a tremendous impact on families in New Jersey who were unprepared for the current economic downturn.

Myself included.

To make a long story short, one afternoon and the absence of a savings account sent my family on a downward spiral.  My husband's business partner was in a car accident and paralyzed from the chest down last November.  They co-owned a tree company in which my husband managed the crew and got the jobs done, while his partner handled estimates, sales and administration.

When the accident happened, my husband tried to manage the entire business on his own, but the winter was slow and jobs were a dime a dozen.  We used our credit cards and my paycheck to get through the winter and float payroll, as we didn't want to loose our employees come spring.

Unfortunately, the housing market crashed at the same time our business fell apart.  When spring rolled around, homeowners began cutting back on unnecessary landscaping and tree removal.  We both worked like dogs to keep his guys employed, with nothing to show for it.

In the meantime, the business loans fell behind and other loans surfaced that his partner racked up without our knowledge. Unfortunately, we were now responsible for over $75,000 of debt with no income coming in.

To make matters worse, I was laid off in late August and found out we were expecting our second child two weeks later.

And just like that, my husband and I (who used to make over $100,000 combined) found ourselves sitting in line waiting for WIC checks, applying for PSEG heating assistance and filling out forms for food stamps.

We've watched our lifestyle change as we no longer eat out when we don't feel like cooking, buy a pair of shoes at the end of a bad day or take sporadic weekend trips just to get away for a while. 

I've been humiliated in the grocery store as the clerk rolls his eyes, flashes the light and hollers across the store, "I've got a WIC check here!" as everyone behind me grumbles and switches lines because it was taking too long.

I've been treated like trailer-trash from state workers and those who don't know my situation.  But I hate to break it to everyone, this may be the new norm.

As more people loose their jobs and new jobs become harder to find, families like mine will find themselves in uncharted waters. I even heard Susie Orman tell Anderson Cooper last week that bread lines may become reality for families without savings accounts or resources to ride out these tough times. 

Scary thought, I know. 

I can only hope that the struggles facing "Main Street" get just as much attention as the problems on "Wall Street" in the days to come.   I hope someone out there realizes that those of us in the middle class are unable to consume the way we once did, and unless someone puts money in our hands, there is very little we can do to stimulate the economy. 

And finally, I hope the diversity of those enrolled in welfare programs serves as a wake-up call to state and local officials that rich and poor, young and old, educated or not-- we are all sinking here and can't bailout of this on our own. 

So without a lifeboat, we're going down and we'll be taking big business with us.

This is an original post to New Jersey Moms Blog.