2024-02-22 05:27:57
[The Epoch Times, February 22, 2024]According to the latest research, with the end of the epidemic, the number of poor people in New York City has increased sharply. There will be nearly 2 million poor people in the city in 2022, an increase of 500,000 from the previous year. This is The largest single-year increase in the past decade. Children bear the brunt, with one in four living in poverty.
According to a research report released by Columbia University and the anti-poverty organization Robin Hood on February 21, the low-income and poor people in New York City will account for more than half (56%) of the total population in 2022, reaching 4.6 million people. Low income is defined as income between 100-200% of the poverty line, accounting for 33% of the population; poverty is defined as the inability to afford basic needs such as housing and food, accounting for 23% of the population.
The number of poor people in New York City will increase from 1.5 million in 2021 to 2 million in 2022, and the poverty rate will increase from 18% in 2021 to 23% in 2022, which is almost twice the national average. This is the highest level since 2012. This is the largest single-year increase in the city’s poverty rate since 2008.
The child poverty rate is even higher, reaching 25% in 2022, or regarding 420,000 people, which is the highest rate since 2015. The poverty rate for people of color is nearly twice that of whites. The poverty rates for Latinos, Asians, and blacks are 26%, 24%, and 23% respectively, compared with 13% for whites.
The study attributed the surge in poverty mainly to the termination of several federal aids during the epidemic, including: expansion of the child tax credit, increased unemployment insurance benefits and cash subsidies. Inflation and rising rental costs are also partly to blame.
Government and elected officials plan to roll out more aid
During the epidemic, the federal expansion of the child tax credit program increased the annual tax credit amount from $2,000 to $3,600 for each child under 6 years old, and increased the annual tax credit amount from $2,000 to $3,000 for children over 6 years old, making Child poverty has been reduced by 30%. But as the pandemic ends in 2022, the expanded credit program ends, causing child poverty to surge by 60%.
Therefore, the report recommends that the federal government should make the expansion of the child tax credit introduced during the epidemic permanent. Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to expand the child tax credit. It is estimated that regarding 35% of families in New York City are eligible for the expanded child tax credit. More tax credits and more rebates, but still needs U.S. Senate approval.
The report also recommends that New York’s Empire State Child Tax Credit be increased from $330 to $1,000 per child per year and that the family income threshold be eliminated, which might lift an estimated 76,000 children out of poverty; New York State Senator Andrew Gounardes further proposed increasing the annual credit amount from $330 to $1,600 over several years and eliminating the family income threshold. In addition, the report also supports relaxing land zoning controls and expanding the issuance of rental vouchers to help low-income people solve their housing problems.
Charles Lutvak, spokesman for New York City Mayor Adams, responded that Adams continues to pay attention to the needs of working-class people and has launched a series of measures since taking office, including the summer youth employment program and the expansion of New York City’s earned income tax credit. , the city has recently seen an increase in jobs, returning to pre-pandemic levels more than a year ahead of schedule, and the number of jobs in the private sector has reached a record high.
Editor in charge: Zheng Hua
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