NEW YORK

Budget axe offers little hope to lift city's poor

President Bush's proposed $2.5 trillion budget includes millions of dollars in cuts that could devastate New York City's nearly 1.5 million working poor. These families have been struggling to stay above the poverty line with help from the programs facing the chopping block — affordable housing, literacy, after-school tutoring, recreation for inner-city youth and services for the elderly — programs long considered safety nets. Under the President's proposed budget, New Yorkers will lose $207 million in community block grants - money earmarked for literacy and senior programs and desperately needed funding for child care for needy families. The budget also would slash some $31 million in after-school programs for city kids and English classes for immigrants. Worse, this follows a $50 million reduction in federal housing aid that will soon send more than 6,000 of New York's poorest tenants scrambling for a place to live.

At a time when the mayor and city officials are launching a five-year plan to reduce homelessness, it seems counterproductive to slash programs we know help prevent it. As the city's largest private provider of services to low-income and homeless people, we know firsthand the obstacles many face when trying to escape poverty. Low-income parents struggle to find affordable child care while seeking employment or working night and weekend jobs. Their children are more likely to have difficulty learning and need access to tutoring and after-school recreation. These programs, viewed as giveaways by the administration, provide the critical assistance thousands need to seek meaningful employment and affordable housing. They are investments in our communities. Rather than cut, the President needs to improve upon services that can help lift these men, women and children out of poverty. Local, state and U.S. officials must move quickly and strategically to stop many of these cuts if we want to ensure that the working poor can improve their lives and decrease reliance on government assistance. In his inaugural address, the President spoke of creating an "ownership society" in which all Americans will better control their social and economic futures. These programs will help New York City's working poor participate in the same society. Without them, the holes in the safety net will grow ever larger.

Richard Motta
6 March 2005

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/col/story/287415p-246077c.html

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