The Cost of Existence

The Cost of Existence In an era when Government pronouncements are often suspect, it is refreshing when the official word comes out straight, however depressing. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, after studying the tariff on existence in the New York City area, reported that it now costs $11,236 a year for a family of four to maintain a "moderate" standard of living there.

That is an increase of $1,259 in just two years, and it fails to take into account this month's 50% increase in the transit fare. Nearly three-quarters of the city's population live in families that earn less than $11,236. The bureau's "lower standard"--a subsistence budget allowing for only $1,022 beyond taxes and the utter necessities of life--is now up to $6,771. Yet the average wage for a production worker in the New York region last year amounted to only $6,527. In free translation, the Government's message to New Yorkers is that a majority of them really cannot afford to live there--something that residents have known all along.

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