Half of NYC is Poor

[LiberalElite]

http://gawker.com/5995175/half-of-new-york-city-is-poor

In a study that surprises almost no one, the Bloomberg administration has found that half of New York City residents are "poor" or "near-poor" meaning that they were "making less than 150 percent of the poverty threshold." This is a small rise in the amount of poor from 2009, when the recession officially ended. But as New York City has made abundantly clear, the recovery has not been shared by all (or even many).

The city, in its analysis, recommended against cutbacks to vital public assistance programs, like tax credits and food stamps. These programs are having their budgets cut at the federal and state level, as Washington, and Mayor Bloomberg himself endorses austerity measures in the face of a still-sluggish economy.

[Melinda]

1. Oh, but how the other half lives!

Many parts of Amerika are now the economic equivalent of 3rd world countries. USA! USA! USA!

[Warpy]

2. The other half is mostly "rent poor,"

meaning that the inflated rents in the NYC area eat up so much of their income that they're well below the poverty line when it comes to spending on frivolous things like food.

[Honeycombe8]

3. What they need most are jobs, though.

Food stamps are good for the here and now, for a temporary measure. But is New York having a higher than nat'l average unemployment rate? Or is it because it's so large? Or have unemployed moved there to find jobs? It's all about JOBS!

[HiPointDem]

4. wait, it's impossible to live in nyc unless you make over $200K! Many DUers have told me so.

[frazzled]

5. Many think Manhattan = New York City

They've never been to the Bronx or Queens.

[davidn3600]

6. The rift between the rich and poor are growing and the people in the middle are shrinking

[byeya]

7. Yeah but the mayor has billions and refers to the NYPD as his private army. That should make

the poors feel better about their situation - boosting morale, that sort of thing.

[grok]

8. are they bangladeshi poor?

where htey NEED every scrap they need to survive? or are they simply unhappy poor? ergo whatever they MUST get a good cup of coffee, but they still have the 1800 calories a day to minorly exert themselves...