It is a real challenge for the island to improve its social and economic environment.
- Brenda A. Vázquez Colón, EL VOCERO 10/23/2020
After the recent publication of the US News World Report indicating that -according to the 2019 Census data on the American community- the city of San Juan, in Puerto Rico, is the most unequal in terms of income, the issue of social inequality that affects the economy and quality of life of Puerto Ricans is revived.
Although economist Joaquín Villamil pointed out that the survey does not explain its methodology - and therefore does not give full credibility to the publication - he indicated that inequality on the island is a real problem that must be addressed in order to improve the social and economic environment.
"This type of article does a lot of damage to Puerto Rico and the country has to react to the high level of inequality that exists. There is no doubt about that, but we cannot compare ourselves with states like New York or Detroit, because they are different cities and we are an island," Villamil said.
According to World Bank data, Puerto Rico has a .59 coefficient on the Gini index -a scale that ranks income inequality-, followed by Atlanta (.57), Miami (.57), New Orleans (.56) and New York (.55). Large cities at the other end of the spectrum-the least unequal-include Santa Ana, California (.4); Virginia Beach, Virginia (.42); and Columbus, Ohio (.44). The commonly used index uses a scale of 0-1, where 0 equals perfect equality and 1 equals perfect inequality.
"Puerto Rico's problem is very serious and impacts the population in many ways, because people have not been able to improve their economic situation with the lack of access to education and health services. Economists measure the level of poverty and inequality, but to this we must add the problem of social mobility. When there is no social mobility, there is no hope that my children will be better off, nor that I will be better off at the end of my useful life," Villamil commented.
The lack of effective social infrastructure is another factor that the economist identifies as an obstacle to the growth of the economy, to employment opportunities and to the achievement of a quality education system that would lead to better salary levels.
"We have federal unemployment and nutrition programs that solve a little bit of the poverty problem, but they do nothing to prepare people for high levels of productivity. Not only do we need good physical infrastructure, we also need to design livelihood programs that help us have a better economic and social condition," Villamil said.
Sergio Marxuach, economist and public policy director of the Center for a New Economy (CNE), said that income inequality is a situation that Puerto Rico has been experiencing for a long time and has been studied for decades.
"Inequality in San Juan is not news, it is all over the island. We have places like Condado and areas like Barrio Obrero, where poverty is palpable. Unequal cities tend to have the worst growth in health indicators and access to quality education. There is more crime, teenage pregnancies and school dropouts, factors that manifest themselves in the long term," Marxuach said.
These situations discourage the population, because they understand that no matter how hard people try, they will not be able to get ahead or get out of poverty levels.
"All of this brings migration to the United States. Politicians mention this issue very little. No administration has done anything significant to address income inequality," Marxuach said.
The most recent Census data also indicate that the Covid-19 pandemic is accelerating U.S. disparities in many ways, as both the virus and the economic consequences continue to disproportionately impact communities.