Bay area housing crisis. We now have a

BAY AREA HOUSING CRISIS WE NOW HAVE A RICH PEOPLE AND POOR PEOPLE ZONE BAY AREA HOUSING CRISIS WE NOW HAVE A RICH PEOPLE AND POOR PEOPLE ZONE

KENNETH SESSION

California is the epicenter of the tech industry, the wealthiest and the most progressive state in the union, but it faces one problem, a drawback that could cripple its economy- homelessness and worse of all, no one seems to agree on how to solve the issue.

The problem has become so bad that we now have a “rich man’s land” and “poor people land.” Middlefield Road marks the end of the poor people zone and the start of posh residential units for the rich. At one end of the road, you are net with the famously Atherton, characterized by luxurious canopy trees hovering over multimillion-dollar investment properties. At the other end, just a few miles away, there lies a neighborhood of modest, single-story homes in Redwood City where the poverty rate is nearly twice the average in the five counties of the Bay Area.

The road cuts through perhaps one of the most extreme income gaps in the Bay Area. experts say that the gap here is larger than in any other part of California. And while it may be easy to just ignore this rift in enclaves like the Los Alto Hills or the Blackhawk, here the economic disparity is severe. From Atherton to Redwood city, it is surprising that the median household income plummets nearly $180,000 and the college education levels drop with every single drop in the tree canopy line. But you may wonder, why so much segregation? Who is to blame?

According to the New York Times, for San Francisco and most of the Bay Area’s discontents, tech companies are the boogeymen and an inescapable presence, bringing San Francisco and other Bay Area residents their comeuppance. However, looking deeper into this mess, tech giants in the area are not to blame, the real fright feature is the lack of housing in the region.

According to the 2018 census data, the median household income in a place like Atherton where two-thirds of its residents is $250,000. A few miles away in Redwood City, the median household income is $71,458 and two-thirds of its residents are Latinos and a quarter of children here live in poverty. California is known for the notorious disparities in wealth gaps between communities and what’s in Atherton and Redwood City is not something new, however, there are some unique aspects that set Atherton and Redwood City apart from other areas with a significant wealth gap. The first on the list is Atherton’s wealth: With a net worth of 6.5 million per person, Atherton’s zip code is among the top wealthiest in the state of California. Redwood city on the other hand in on the lower spectrum coming in at bottom

The second unique characteristic is the physical proximity of the two ZIP codes. According to Brian Uhler, deputy legislative analyst in the state Legislative Analyst Office, communities with similar levels of wealth are clustered together, with affluent areas in one place and less affluent places in another.

“For the most part, there are not that many (places) where you have one of the higher wealth ones right next to a lower wealth area,” Uhler said.

California is a nice place to live, for those at the top of the income scale. This is according to an analysis of the U.S Census Bureau data by the California Budget and Policy Center (CBPC) which has found a deepening gap between the state’s have and have-nots.

The analysis found a major gain for the richest residents and more modest gains for the people with median incomes and losses for the people with the lowest income gains when adjusted for inflation. The median household incomes in California according to the CBPC report increased by 6.4% from $70,744 in 2016 to75,277 adjusting for inflation. However, the top 5% of households’ income grew by 18.6% from $426,851 in 2006 to 506,421 in 2018 while the households in the bottom 20% saw their average income fall by 5.3% from $16,441 in 2006 to $15,562 in 2018. This analysis was based on the latest American Community Survey report.

The income disparity in California is not even remotely unique, recent data from the census bureau show that from 2017 to 2018 income inequality widened also in other 8 states including Alaska, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Virginia, and New Mexico. However, in most other states, there was constancy to no change in inequality. Bay Area residents suffer the most. The average income for top earners in many Bay Area counties in 2018 was higher than the state average for the richest households. San Francisco County had the highest rate of income disparity with 5% of households making an average of $808,105 compared with $16,184 for the lowest 20%.

“The Bay Area feels the income inequalities and the disparity between the numbers at the top and the stagnant wages at the bottom more than most other areas of California because of the cost of living,” said Megan Joseph, executive director of Rise Together, a regional coalition aimed at reducing poverty in the Bay Area.

Sources & Works Cited https://calmatters.org/californiadivide/2019/10/income-inequalityis-on-the-rise-in-california-in-somecounties-the-disparities-are-extreme/ https://www.mercurynews. com/2020/02/17/bay-area-living-atthe-intersection-of-rich-and-poor/