As income inequality grows, a state senator renews the call to strengthen Rhode Island’s safety net
State Senator urges action against the widening gap between the wealthy and working citizens of Rhode Island. She highlights the deepening crisis as essential living costs continue to rise while support programs falter.
“We must not accept the increasing concentration of wealth at the top while ordinary people lack affordable housing, health care, and food,” she writes.
As the ongoing government shutdown disrupts critical assistance, around 145,000 Rhode Islanders who depend on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are left without sufficient funds to buy food. This lack of support worsens hunger across the state, where nearly 40 percent of residents experience some level of food insecurity.
According to HousingWorks RI, the median household income for renters in Rhode Island stands at $48,434. Yet, there is no community in the state where families earning under $60,000 a year can afford the average rent for a two-bedroom home. In most areas, it takes more than $75,000—or even $100,000—to secure such housing.
Similarly, buying a median-priced home is out of reach for households earning less than $100,000 annually. These costs illustrate how quickly living expenses outpace income for the majority.
The core issue behind the federal shutdown, she notes, stems from congressional Republicans’ refusal to renew health care marketplace subsidies. Without them, insurance premiums for average Rhode Islanders who rely on these subsidies are expected to rise by about 85 percent, sometimes more. Even with such support, health care remains unaffordable for many, and medical debt continues to drive countless families into bankruptcy.
Author’s Summary
Rhode Island faces deepening hardship as income inequality climbs, leaving working families unable to meet housing, food, and health care needs while political gridlock worsens their struggle.
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