NYC: Where Bonuses Rise, and The Working Poor Still End Up Homeless
Bonuses on Wall Street jumped 15 percent in 2013, while record numbers of New Yorkers poured into homeless shelters.
othermore (CC-BY-SA)
In New York City in 2013, Wall Street bonuses jumped 15 percent. “The average bonus rose to $164,530 … in 2013, with total bonus payments rising to $26.7bn,” the BBC reported this week, citing a statement by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.
Although the sky may be the limit for a select few, the outlook is far bleaker for a growing number of New York City’s poor. New York homeless shelters are facing record demand with an average of more than 50,000 people staying there per night. This figure, which includes 22,712 children, represents a 7 percent increase from January 2013 to January 2014. But the problem, according to a report released by the Coalition for the Homeless, isn’t always about joblessness (via The Guardian):
Also alarming is the number of people who have jobs, but no home. The report found that more than one in four homeless families in city shelters is headed by a working adult; and one of every six homeless single adults is employed. According to city data, the number of working homeless people has increased by 57% from November 2010 to July 2013.
The report blames the city’s homeless crisis on a combination of factors. It cites the “disastrous homeless policies” implemented by then-mayor Michael Bloomberg; the city’s worsening housing affordability; and the growing income inequality gap.
The Coalition for the Homeless report also includes some suggestions for New York City’s new mayor, Bill de Blasio, such as restoring long-term housing subsidies and finding new ways to create more permanent housing solutions. De Blasio has pledged to “preserve or construct nearly 200,000 units of affordable housing.”
— Posted by Donald Kaufman.
WAIT, BEFORE YOU GO…If you're reading this, you probably already know that non-profit, independent journalism is under threat worldwide. Independent news sites are overshadowed by larger heavily funded mainstream media that inundate us with hype and noise that barely scratch the surface. We believe that our readers deserve to know the full story. Truthdig writers bravely dig beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that tells you what’s really happening and who’s rolling up their sleeves to do something about it.
Like you, we believe a well-informed public that doesn’t have blind faith in the status quo can help change the world. Your contribution of as little as $5 monthly or $35 annually will make you a groundbreaking member and lays the foundation of our work.
Experts suggest there's no better time to be a top-level corporate executive as the median income of CEOs of S&P 500 companies reached $10.1 million at the end of 2013.
Jack Lew is a liberal who worked for Speaker Tip O'Neill and studied under beloved progressive Sen Paul Wellstone, but he was also the chief operating officer of a Citigroup unit and doesn't fault deregulation for the shoddy economy (more)Jack Lew is a liberal who worked for Speaker Tip O'Neill and studied under beloved progressive Sen.
The United Auto Workers and GM announced late Friday that after more than seven weeks of negotiations the two had agreed on a four-year contract that included new jobs, improved profit-sharing and better health care benefits.
Even Wall Street executives have to be smacking their heads over this one The company that ran the Deepwater Horizon oil rig (before it exploded, killing 11 and filling the Gulf of Mexico with oil) has decided to give its executives bonuses for achieving "the best year in safety performance in our company's history" There are no words .
Big banking execs on Wall Street might have noticed a slight pinch in their cash bonuses last year, but that doesn't mean those clever business minds didn't find a way to make up for it through other financial channels.
An international panel of banking regulators from 27 nations is aiming to crack down on outlandish pay packages for industry executives by proposing a new set of rules that call for more transparency and, wonder of wonders, some correlation between .
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.