Low-Income Lives in Black and White

All low-income New Yorkers without regard to race face difficult choices in everyday life. But low-income Black residents face extraordinary risks and challenges surviving in New York City. That difference is reflected in the responses to a question asked in the latest Community Service Society (CSS) survey of low-income opinion in New York, entitled “The Unheard Third.”

Only one in three low-income Black New Yorkers believe that New York City is going in the right direction, while fully 54 percent believe it is off on the wrong track. Low-income White New Yorkers are split – 45 percent believe the city is headed in the right direction, while 44 percent believe that it is on the wrong track.

Every year, CSS conducts a survey of low-income New Yorkers to determine their concerns and opinions on the most important issues affecting their lives and life in New York City. As far as we know, this is the only regular poll of low-income opinion in the nation. The survey is called “The Unheard Third” because about one in three voters in the city live under or near the federal poverty line. Yet the voices of these New Yorkers are often ignored by public officials and the news media.

Reducing Poverty

An overwhelming 83 percent of low-income Black New Yorkers believe that reducing the number of Americans living in poverty should be a high priority for the federal government. This compares with just 68 percent of low-income White respondents, even though many low-income Whites are living in or near poverty. On a related issue, the gap between rich and poor in America, the difference between the races is less significant. Sixty percent of low-income Blacks think the growing gap between rich and poor is unfair and a problem that needs to be addressed; 54 percent of low-income Whites feel this way.

The difference in responses between low-income White and low-income Black New Yorkers is one of the striking features in the results of the latest survey. The clear difference in the perception of New York City is evident in a number of other findings in the survey, including experiences with employment and banking services, and most helpful government benefits. They reflect two views of life, with Blacks more likely to focus on elemental, basic needs to survive.

Savings for Emergencies

One of the most glaring differences is the amount of savings low-income working New Yorkers have to fall back on in case of an emergency. Even thought they have jobs, more than one-third of low-income Black workers (35.4 percent) have no savings at all, compared to 21.9 percent of low-income White workers. In these households, any disruption of life – an illness, the loss of a job – could precipitate a crisis leading to homelessness and the breakup of the family.

Most Important Benefits

Low-income Black New Yorkers see housing assistance as the most important government benefit in helping their families get ahead. Low-income Whites opt for lower taxes and health insurance. When it comes to employment, job training is considered most important by more Black New Yorkers (31 percent) than White New Yorkers (22 percent). And while 77 percent of Blacks say they would join a union on the job if given the opportunity, 57 percent of Whites concur.

Hardships

Moving from the general to the specific, 40 percent of low-income Black New Yorkers experienced at least three hardships in the past year – they postponed medical care, were unable to fill a prescription, fell behind in rent payments, had their utilities or phone turned off – because of a lack of money. Thirty-four percent of low-income Whites experienced three or more hardships. And 39 percent of Whites suffered none of these hardships this past year compared to 30 percent of Blacks.

Non-Banking “Services”

With more than one-third of low-income Blacks reporting that they had no savings to fall back on in an emergency, it is not surprising that many use non-banking financial services – check cashing places or payday loans - more often than Whites. Sixty-one percent of low-income Whites say they never use such services, compared to 43 percent of Blacks; 21 percent of low-income Blacks use these services at least once a month. Low-income Blacks without bank accounts often have no alternative but to go to these places, which routinely charge exorbitant fees for their services.

Those Left Behind

The survey’s results highlight many of the difficulties of life in New York City for both low-income Blacks and Whites. But they are also a reflection of a Black community that suffers from a high percentage of jobless men, large numbers of high school dropouts with little or no job skills, single mother headed households, and concentrations of men recently released from prison. These are segments of a population left behind in the economic and civic life of the city.

Our surveys provide CSS with direct feedback of our work with low-income New Yorkers, our primary constituency. CSS uses survey findings to alert and educate politicians and effect changes in public policies.

The responses of low-income New Yorkers reflect the necessity for programs and policies that include skills-based training for young people not enrolled in the traditional public school system, more inclusive work supports – such as health insurance and paid sick leave – that would improve low-wage workers’ economic security, and training programs for workers to transition to higher wage jobs. What is needed now is a bit of foresight and the political will to make these things happen.

View “The Unheard Third” on our website .

From the New York Amsterdam News
March 6 - 12, 2008