Financial Hardship and the Near Poor – New Jersey

Report: More than one-third of New Jersey households either mired in poverty, or close to it, By Mark Spivey, September 3, 2012, MyCentralJersey.com: “Olivia Maxwell pauses, momentarily puzzled and maybe even a little taken aback by the question of whether she considers herself to be part of New Jersey’s middle class. Then it hits her – of the dozens of questions facing her every day, this one ranks pretty much at the bottom of the barrel in terms of importance. How many meals she’ll be able to squeeze out of a carton of eggs and a handful of packages of Ramen noodles – now that’s a question. The same is true of whether the shot brakes and worn tires on her aging Honda Accord are going to hold up for a little longer; if not, there goes a week’s worth of paid vacation, because her next paycheck won’t arrive in time to cover repairs, forcing her to stay home. Then there’s the question of whether she’s going to be able to afford summer camp for her 12-year-old son Quincy next year; she sure hopes so, because things came up just short this year and the look on his face ate her up inside…”