The state budgets and the economically vulnerable

Okay by now everybody knows that the states are in a financial mess. Years of over promising generous and outlandish benefits to the state workers and not saving for a rainy day were bound to hit the states very hard. But like everything else, as long as good times were rolling, promises were being given without a thought of how it is going to be paid. Some states particularly New Jersey has stopped paying into their pension funds and are in big enough financial hole that it will be years or maybe even decades if they will ever replenish these funds. And due to this mismanagement of revenue and expenses, state governors are trying to balance their budgets by cutting it any so called unnecessary expense they can get away with.

The major effect of the tight state budgets are the economically vulnerable who would see their benefits being reduced or curtailed. Like School lunches, Medicare and Medicaid, unemployment benefits, senior services and the like. The economically vulnerable don’t have anybody to turn to in times of need and to cut their benefits is very cruel. I can understand that the most states have to balance their budgets according to their constitutional requirements, but to cut benefits from people who already have none and have to financial support to fall back on is not the right thing to do. With some creative methods even getting input from the public, these vulnerable citizens of our society can get their share of aid without busting the states’ budgets.