Penny wise, pound foolish

We have too long been in an emergency situation, as far as the state’s budget, but the flare up over providing money to the state’s food banks so they can fill their nearly empty shelves, seems — as the cliche goes — penny wise and pound foolish.

Gov. Jon Corzine wants to provide the money, Gov.-elect Chris Christie doesn’t. The dispute illustrates the kinds of problems that crop up when a state — or the federal government — fails to manage the public’s money wisely during good times: When bad times hit, it is left without money to do what absolutely must be done.

In this case, the state has what I think is a moral obligation to help the food banks out — given the skyrocketing increase in the number of people who have been forced by the economy to make use of food banks and soup kitchens.

Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie. View all posts by hankkalet