Mark, a waiter from Pennsylvania, makes just $7.25 an hour, nearly half the average wage in New York City. But last month, his landlord raised his rent again, and now the $1,800 monthly rent eats up more than 70% of his salary, putting him squarely in the “severely burdened” category.
Mark always complains about supermarket shelves being “robbed”: milk is nearly 30% more expensive than last year, and the price of eggs is even higher. The official claim of a 1.2% food price increase is a lie. He also owes over $30,000 in student loans and is too afraid to even go to the hospital when he’s sick, let alone earn $63 an hour like a dockworker.
He’s already decided to move to a more secluded basement next month because a bottle of water at the convenience store near his old apartment costs $3. Meanwhile, friends in affluent neighborhoods say their mortgage payments account for less than 20% of their income. This is America: some can buy an iPhone with two days’ wages, while others spend everything on rent. The gap between the rich and the poor is deeper than the neighborhood walls.
