Worse Inequality than Sri Lanka or Mexico;
City’s Poverty Still Higher than when Mayor Bloomberg Took Office

New York State continued to have far more inequality of income than any other state in the nation, according to 2007 American Community Survey data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. In just the one year between 2006 and 2007, the percent of the state’s income earned by the top fifth (the top 20%) wealthiest New Yorkers rose from 52.6 percent to 53.2 percent.

At .50, New York State now has a higher Gini index, which measures inequality of income, than
Mexico (.46), Sri Lanka (.40), France (.33) or Norway (.26).

To illustrate the extent of inequality, the poorest fifth (the poorest 20%) of New Yorkers continued to earn only 2.9% of the state’s income. In New York City, the median income in the Bronx was only 63% of New York State’s median income.

“New York is the epicenter of inequality in America’s latest Gilded Age. Because our political
leaders continue to grant massive tax cuts for the ultra rich while refusing to adequately raise the minimum wage, our state now has more inequality of income than Sri Lanka or Mexico,” said Joel Berg, executive director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger. “When our income inequality is closer to the developing world than to the rest of the industrialized world, we should be ashamed of ourselves.”

“Today we have an era of crony capitalism in which how well you do is often based on who you
know. We need to return to an era of opportunity capitalism which provided fair taxes and fair
wages, and in which success was based on how hard you worked. Just as my grandparents were
able to make a better life for their families through sweat and sacrifice, we need to return to an
economy that allows new generations to earn such progress,” said Berg.

Despite Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s high profile anti-poverty initiative, there were more people in poverty in the City in 2007 (1.50 million) than when he took office in 2002 (1.491 million). Given the recent economic downturn, a significant increase in poverty is expected in 2008.

Continued Berg, “These federal numbers are the clearest indication yet that Mayor Bloomberg’s
anti-poverty strategy – comprised mostly of small-scale, underfunded pilot programs – is failing to make a significant dent in the City’s massive poverty and hunger. At the same time, incomes for the richest New Yorkers have continued to skyrocket. I hope this new data is a wake up call for all our elected officials to convince them that we must devote real resources to our antipoverty efforts.”