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I wondered about WHY so many New Yorkers are below or near the poverty line. In a place with such unlimited opportunity. I understand there are better benefits here for the poor than in many places so perhaps that is part of it. But it still doesn't make sense because who would intentionally WANT to be poor? The salon I work at is always busy, my seasonal bartending job is always busy. I did not need a ton of education or skills to acquire those jobs. I made terrible money until I built a clientel but restricted the hours and worked a side job 32 hours a week that was more lucrative. I simply work hard everyday and make a decent living. I know this probably sounds really naive but I came from a very ordinary background. No special extras handed to me other than a little help with college books and tuition. I had lean times and good times. But as long as I clocked the hours I never touched the levels of poverty the people in this article are at. It doesn't make sense to me. Also, I don't have dependents. Why are these people having kids if they can't afford them, only to complain and demand help? Wouldn't it seem logical not to have them until you are adequately financially prepared, or move to a place with lower COL? It almost seems like people enjoy it.
Last edited by EastBoundandDownChick; 09-12-2013 at 05:42 PM..
New york is the nations magnet for low level unskilled workers. Social programs and public transportation are just some of the reasons we lead the country in unemployment for those with no high school diplomas or skills.
I wondered about WHY so many New Yorkers are below or near the poverty line. In a place with such unlimited opportunity. I understand there are better benefits here for the poor than in many places so perhaps that is part of it. But it still doesn't make sense because who would intentionally WANT to be poor? The salon I work at is always busy, my seasonal bartending job is always busy. I did not need a ton of education or skills to acquire those jobs. I made terrible money until I built a clientel but restricted the hours and worked a side job 32 hours a week that was more lucrative. I simply work hard everyday and make a decent living. I know this probably sounds really naive but I came from a very ordinary background. No special extras handed to me other than a little help with college books and tuition. I had lean times and good times. But as long as I clocked the hours I never touched the levels of poverty the people in this article are at. It doesn't make sense to me. Also, I don't have dependents. Why are these people having kids if they can't afford them, only to complain and demand help? Wouldn't it seem logical not to have them until you are adequately financially prepared, or move to a place with lower COL? It almost seems like people enjoy it.
No one is pinning a rose on them either Bronxguyanese. Michigan doesn't have as diverse an economy as NYC though. And as a percentage of general population NYC's poverty rate is actually higher.
Public welfare, public transportation,ethinic areas where one can live and be comfortable, strong unions that attract low level workers hoping to get a good paying low skilled job but can't get hired all add to our growing population of poverty people.
Most can't pass a back ground check, a drug test or even simple math test and are just about un-employable.
No one is pinning a rose on them either Bronxguyanese. Michigan doesn't have as diverse an economy as NYC though. And as a percentage of general population NYC's poverty rate is actually higher.
Why so many poor? A mismatch between the types of jobs available and the skills of the poor. Many of them lack education, technical skills, or have poor "soft skills". At the same time high-paying unskilled jobs they might fill like factory work, shipping have been leaving the city for decades. So they either get an education or learn some skills, leave the city to seek their fortune, or survive in the underground economy. While some do try and work the system IMO most are legitimately trying to do better.
Detroit is entirely another beast. Like comparing apples to oranges. Deindustrialization hit that town hard. It is over 50% functionally illiterate. Different scenario.
NYC has a high percentage of renters. In other to get your own apartment, either you're making 40 times whatever one month's rent is (a studio here in the North Bronx is 1000), it other parts of the city its going to cost you nearly 2k, and in better parts of Manhattan its going to cost you $3k.
Despite the pretensions of people on this thread, a lot of jobs require degrees do not pay well or are not stable. You'll find people with degrees who are basically sharing ROOMS with other people. As in, there's two bedrooms in what should be considered ONE ROOM!
The main way for a big percentage of New Yorkers to avoid this to use welfare programs to get an apartment.
You do not have that many jobs in NYC that pay well, not compared to the number of people that live here or that want to live here.
Also, the OP clearly is one of those poor people herself. She works in a salon, she works as a bartender, and she works in fashion. Nobody has multiple jobs like this if they are making money at any of them.
As for bartenders, I've known bartenders to either live in the projects or with bunches of people. You cannot buy a house, co op, or condo while working as a bartender. It pays better than working as a cashier in fast food, but anyone who claims bartenders are paid well is bull****ting. The vast majority have no benefits, and its not really a job you can move up in terms of promotion.
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