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You know that quote everyone shares, the one about not knowing the battle that others are going through? About being kind, and empathetic! I think it should be banned. And I don’t mean it should be deleted from our social memory, I mean we should instead make stickers that make our battles very clear because everyone should know what is really going on with the person next to them.

10%- 15% of Americans suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome. 1.5 million Americans suffer from lupus. Basically at any given moment you are walking by someone with an invisible illness. There are other invisible ailments, in America poverty has become one of them. So I thought we would focus on poverty since nobody runs races to stop it.

Basic human needs are shelter, and food. How much food and shelter one needs is determined by where you live. I happen to live in NYC, not because I was seeking an adventure. For some, like Becky from Connecticut, this place is a choice. For others your place of birth is where you stay, not because you love the smell of sewage during NYC summers, but because this is where your people came decades ago when housing and food was attainable. But today housing in NYC is unattainable, and for those living in poverty the picture is dire.

Poverty is sprinkled throughout New York City perfectly… like the ratio of cherry to vanilla that Carvel has mastered. The poor add texture, flavor and depth but it’s the vanilla that gets the fame. So while vanilla is off somehow managing to pay $1800 for a studio, the poor (those poor enough to receive public assistance) are awarded a maximum housing allowance of $215 month. A quick look at every rental listing in the tri state area proves that Becky got a deal when she moved to the ghetto. But for those on the margin $215 is not enough to cover that, or a closet in that studio.

So the assumption seems to be that $215 magically multiples in any neighborhood with two Chinese food restaurants. I assure you this is not the case. So how is this number determined? Where does the assumption that $215 is enough for an adult to pay rent come from? That’s a great question.

In 2011 someone I now consider my “best friend forever” although we have never met decided to examine real estate prices in NYC, over the last 100 years. Seriously! His research found that “all hell broke loose (price-wise) in the 1970s”. In the 1960’s someone receiving housing assistance could cover their entire monthly rent with their allowance. However, during the 70’s rent exceeded the $215 allowance averaging $335. So he was shocked that rent was $335 in the 70’s, silly right? Now sit down. Grab some wine and read the next sentence slowly.

In the 80’s rent averaged $1,700.

I blame cocaine, more on that later… Wipe that wine up. Pick up your jaw. Now grab a straw, and gulp while processing this bullshit. By the 90’s rent averaged $3,200. Basically while I was perfecting my eye roll NYC lost its fucking mind. How did this happen while The Wonder years was on TV? Fuck. I told you to grab a straw. You a mess!

So now that we’ve gathered our thoughts, wiped up the alcohol and felt our brains implode let us proceed. What was the question? Oh yeah, how in the hell did the Human Resource Administration conclude that $215 is an appropriate housing allowance for an adult in NYC in 2016.

The odd thing is that when one begins researching this question we quickly uncover that it is not a question. Public service agencies throughout America are aware of their shortfall. But this recognition hasn’t led to change. It has however, led to the recognition that “in some states standards of assistance are not revised at regular intervals to meet changing conditions and costs” . Because states are unable, or unwilling, to determine the collective and individual needs of their constituents no action is taken to adjust allowances.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) recognizes that “public assistance payments in most states are only, at best, sufficient to purchase the essentials of life” . And this is coming from the federal agency responsible for delivering “Social Security services that meet the changing needs of the public” . So if they know my question is valid why is nothing being done to address it?

Before we delve further into the subject lets talk about labels one last time. It was through the labels I acquired over the last few years that I found myself finally asking this question. See my label would read Ankylosing Spondalytis with IBS, poor, welfare recipient, and proud holder of a Master of Arts. The trick is, what font does one use to fit all that shit on one label? While figuring that out it seems that all I have is the knowledge that the SSA knows how I’m feeling because it turns out that “adults who have had higher standards of living, but are forced through illness or death of the wage earner or other reasons to seek low rents in the slums, become discouraged and lose ambition” .

I feel better already…