No Economic Recovery for the Working Poor

Despite several years of slow recovery, economic gains in New York City have been uneven, helping some while not reaching those at the bottom of the income scale. The poor see themselves as moving down the economic ladder. In our latest survey, 44 percent say that their financial situation is worse than that of their parents, when they were growing up. Eighty-nine percent of low-income New Yorkers see no financial improvement in the past year; 30% say things have gotten worse financially.

More forced
into poverty

These are among the findings of the fourth annual survey of low-income New Yorkers (PDF) conducted for the Community Service Society by Lake Snell Perry Mermin & Associates. The survey is called “The Unheard Third” because low-income New Yorkers comprise one-third of the city’s potential voters. Low-income is defined as living below 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, less than $32,000 for a family of three; poor is defined as living below 100 percent.

Low-income New Yorkers are not sharing in the economic prosperity of our city, as clearly evidenced by the U.S. Census Bureau report of the increase in the New York City poverty rate. It now stands at 20.3 percent – that’s about 1,625,000 residents - as more New Yorkers are forced into poverty.

Most Poor Work

What’s it like to live in poverty in New York City? First, let’s dispel a stereotype. The great majority of poor New Yorkers live in working families. Our survey found that 62 percent of poor households include a full-time worker; 86 percent include either a full-time or part-time worker in the family.

Yet, besides the low pay - insufficient for covering expenses, especially the cost of housing - poor full-time workers get few benefits on the job. Only 11 percent get health insurance, just 9 percent have a prescription drug benefit, less than half get even a single day of sick leave.

And if an emergency struck, what would these families do? Among poor households with a full-time worker, 65 percent have less than $100 in savings to fall back on; 81 percent have less than $500. Any crisis – a sick family member, the loss of a job – would mean catastrophe for most of these New Yorkers.

It’s no wonder that these families routinely suffer the kinds of hardships that rarely touch the rest of us. Last year, among poor households with a full-time worker, 48 percent were unable to fill prescriptions, 48 percent could not get or postponed medical care, 45 percent fell behind in rent payments, 35 percent had to get food from friends or relatives due to lack of money, 18 percent even went hungry.

Yet the poor are usually ignored by public officials. Has the city or state made plans to counter the impact of higher energy and home heating bills that are forecast for this winter because of the spike in the price of oil and natural gas? The city should be providing tax credits to low-income renters to help offset the impact of a projected increase of as much as 50 percent in home heating costs.

Political Response

New York City is in the midst of a mayoral campaign. New Yorkers should be listening to the candidates discuss their views of problems that affect so many of this city’s residents. Also, the results of this survey should be sufficient to spur both the City Council and the State

Legislature to hold hearings on the economic situation of the poor. The newly elected mayor and the next governor, as well as representatives from communities where poverty is most prevalent, should be leading the way. It is their job to come up with innovative solutions as well as the resources to deal with the problems of poverty.

How public officials respond to the results of this survey is nothing less than a test of civic leadership. New Yorkers will be watching to see who meets that challenge.

View the current survey data (PDF) and past survey results.

CSS President David R. Jones hosts the CUNY-TV show, “The Urban Agenda,” broadcast on Channel 75 on the third Wednesday of every month at 10 a.m., 3 p.m., and 8 p.m., and rebroadcast on the following Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 10 a.m.

From the New York Amsterdam News
October 20 - 26, 2005