Nowhere Is Income Inequality More Visible Than California
Story by India Currents • 18h
The Paradox of Economic Health
If California was a country it would have the sixth largest GDP in the world, however, as the economy has grown so has income inequality. And nowhere is this more apparent than in the San Francisco Bay Area, home to tech giants minting millionaires, but also a population of service workers and tech professionals that can barely afford to live here. A drive down the quiet, pristine streets of Mountain View and Palo Alto shows rows of RV’s housing folks that cannot afford the high rents in these towns.
Consumers in the US have faced more than two years of record level gas and grocery prices. The costs of housing, both for renters and buyers, have been unstable, with rising mortgage rates that peaked at almost 8% last fall, deeply hitting small businesses including the ones that many of you founded or work for.
Facing the most rapid price increases since the early 1980s, many U.S. households are facing difficult choices, including whether to change purchasing habits or dig into savings. At a recent Ethnic Media Services (EMS) briefing, the panelists discuss what’s ahead for 2024, and how an unstable economy impacts its most vulnerable residents.
Vulnerable Communities Pushed to the Brink
Nathan Ganeshan, founded the San Jose non-profit Community Seva to feed the hungry and serve the homeless hot meals, shining a spotlight on the wealth and income inequality in one of the world’s richest regions. “The population is struggling for basic needs, housing largely contributing to this. Not only am I talking about food, but even hygiene, so many women out there who are living in encampments, struggling for basic hygiene, feminine products and things like that. The struggle what we are seeing, on the ground with the homeless is rising every single day,” he adds. “So many of them ask us for a Safeway grocery card, because they want to buy so many other items. And so, during Thanksgiving, we distributed several $25 gift cards so that they can buy what they want. Right now, as we are in winter Community Seva distributes blankets, sleeping bags, and shower shoes.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/nowhere-is-income-inequality-more-visible-than-california/ar-BB1hp0T8?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=e02457b8a8344869b6871833ecc4f6d8&ei=25
