Read it at The New York Times
East Coast politicians talking about inequality might want to look in their own backyard. The top 5 percent of households in Manhattan earn 88 times what the poorest 20 percent make, according to new Census data. The income for the top percent rose 9 percent from 2012 to 2013 (the final year of the Bloomberg administration) to $864,394. Overall in New York City, household income went up in every borough except Staten Island. Overall in the U.S., while the poverty rate declined from 15.0 percent to 14.5 percent, the number of people living in poverty (45.3 million) did not change.
In the metropolitan area, more people were living below the poverty threshold in 2013 than the year before. In 2012, the federal poverty threshold was $11,170 for an individual and $23,050 for a family of four.
“It means that despite the fact that the recession is over we’re still seeing no basic improvement in poverty levels, and for African-Americans it seems to be getting gradually worse,” said David R. Jones, president of the Community Service Society, a research and advocacy group. “The escalation in rents is driving people to the wall.” About 45 percent of New York City households said they spent 35 percent or more of their income on housing.