State Budget Eliminates Funding to Help the Poor Bury Their Dead

Governor Snyder and the Republican leadership have a basic agreement about the budget. Final details will be worked out in conference committee. There are major cuts to the state budget. Advocates for the poor are celebrating that they were able to save some programs from being scrapped completely, although many were cut back. Here's one program which did not survive.

Barely noticed by those of us in the media, the budget will eliminate a program that helps poor families bury their dead. Michigan has been among about a dozen states which set aside money to help. The state would help pay for a cheap casket, basically a cloth-covered fiberboard box. Most cemeteries require some kind of concrete box or vault. The cheapest, is called a rough box. State funds paid for it and a basic funeral service and then someone to dig the grave.

As recently as ten years ago, the average payment to help a family bury a loved one was $1290. The state reduced the rate over the years. Since 2007, the maximum the state would pay is $700. Last year the average payment was $569.

Now, families will be on their own.

Nationally, the average funeral costs about $7000. Struggling families cannot afford it.

www.michiganradio.org/post/no-state-help-bury-poor