Inequality on Long Island

Throughout Long Island racial, economic, and educational inequality has ascended to levels last seen in the years before the Great Depression. The Government has been recognized as one of the main factors driving inequality, because of the various unsolved issues since before the last recession.  Pay inequality has increased with time due to the advancement of technology. Technological change has raised demand for high-skill professionals and removed the lower-skill jobs, eliminating many people’s jobs. When unemployed people are then confronted with bills and taxes, they are unable to pay and then go into debt. They are then forced to move to a lower income area where they are able to afford the price of living. This is widening the gap between rich and poor and increasing income inequality. Low-income communities have lower property values which provide less of a tax base for taxpayer-funded school districts. This then puts the students at a disadvantage because there are then unequal educational opportunities for minority students in poor neighborhoods versus those in affluent, white ones. Research shows how 28% of all white students and 30% of all Asian students have access to the best performing schools, but only 2.7% of all black students on Long Island have access. Some scientists believe that growing inequality leads to more health problems in the population which can reduce workers' efficiency and increase national spending on health. Other researchers believe that inequality can breed corruption, which can hurt the growth of the public and distort investments.

Long Island is becoming racially diverse and the population of the groups having continued to increase. The Asian population in Suffolk County has increased by .5% since 2000 and by 2.2% in Nassau County. The Hispanic population is growing at the fastest rate, and has increased on Long Island by 12% in one decade. Many Hispanics live on the East End where they can find jobs in landscaping, construction, restaurants, and hotels. In East Hampton Town, Hispanics now make up nearly 20 percent of the population. Even though various racial groups have increased throughout Long Island they are still fairly secluded in their own neighborhoods. In 2010 the average black resident lived in a neighborhood that was three and a half times as black as the region and the average Hispanic lived in a neighborhood that was twice as Hispanic as the region. On Long Island, there is an obvious link between racial segregation and economic segregation. The town Westhampton is 90.2% white, has an average income of $90,159, and in 2012 had a high school graduation rate of 91.1%. Wyandanch is 62.9% African American, has an average income of $53,061, and in 2012 had a high school graduation rate of 66%. This proves that towns with high minorities have very low income and source of money which causes complications in their education and life styles.

School poverty is measured by the percentage of a school’s enrollment that is eligible for free or reduced lunch through the National School Lunch Program. High-poverty schools are those where 76–100 percent of students are eligible for FRPL and low-poverty schools are those where 0–25 percent of students are eligible. The percent of students on LI receiving free lunch has almost doubled since 2002. One way that the government can begin to fix this problem is by giving each school district the same amount of funding so a similar education can be offered. Some schools on Long Island have too much funding and others have very little funding. Westhampton Beach High School is able to lend the students a laptop to use for the year, while other schools are unable to buy new textbooks. The government should divide up their funding as equal as possible and help all schools thrive.

Long Island ranks 10th in the nation in residential segregation between blacks and whites, higher than Los Angeles, Baltimore, and Washington, DC. The town of Manorville is 89.0% White, 6.6% Hispanic, and 1.6% Black. Many towns like Manorville have entire school districts are segregated from one another, creating regional high schools of excellence. This thwarts young kid’s education and mocks our belief of equal opportunity, which in the end threatens our future. Wealthier schools are able to offer students wider selections of courses, better teachers and more access to opportunities, while poorer districts are not. The inequalities throughout Long Island are increasing and we need to change it or the problems will only get worse.