Best Use of Tax Revenue?

To the Editor:
I was visiting a friend who lives in North Wildwood. He started telling me about his neighbor who rents a place around the corner from him. She is 28, single with two children and does not work. She told him about all of the assistance that she gets from the State of New Jersey and the feds. Obviously she goes through the county to get it.
She says “Why would I even consider working or getting married?” She gets $5,500 a month to live, free. He started to write down everything that she was telling him. He gave me a copy.
She receives:
$800 per month assistance times three people (herself and each child). She said the key was to have the children diagnosed as A.D.D. This gets her the $2,400 per month.
$140 per month food stamps times three people.
$100 per month extra on the food stamp card for extras such as haircuts, nails, times three people.
$1,500 per month rental assistance. Since she lives in a seashore resort town it’s $1,500. If she moves offshore to say Villas it’s only $1,000.
$800 per month for utilities
She also is entitled to Medicaid, Fare Free Transportation and food through WIC (Women, Infants and Children). And, if she wants an abortion she can have that for free. Is this really happening? Why are we allowing this to happen? Finally, she told him that she is considering having another child.
I grew up in Cape May County. I also spend my summers there. It saddens me to see the state of affairs that are going on in Wildwood, Villas and even Rio Grande. Her situation will in no way help.
While I was growing up there were manufacturing jobs in the county. There is an empty business park at the county airport with unused roads. There is also a rail line that ran through the county that is owned by the state. This rail line also runs through Woodbine, which at one time had quite a bit of manufacturing.
How about using some of the taxpayers’ hard-earned money to renovate the track with the state’s help and run some railroad sidings into Woodbine and the Cape May County Airport, and make a decent effort to attract some businesses?
The railroad still exists and may make it attractive for a business or two to relocate, businesses that would hire good people. Someone in the county needs to wake up before most of the shore towns turn in to another Asbury Park.