New York’s “Billionaires’ Row” Making The Wealth Gap Between Classes Painfully Tangible
Photo by Leonhard NiederwimmerWithin the United States’ most populated city where the homeless population is upwards of 50,000, people who are unaware of where they might sleep tonight or get their next meal, there lies a slew of properties that are taking up plenty of real estate that would be better served as housing for those in need but are instead laying unoccupied and owned by some of the richest people in the world. “Billionaires’ Row” is a section of NY on 57th Street and epitomizes what we consider the 1% to be. It only includes 8 buildings, but they all are incredibly tall buildings which could potentially be used to house a large portion of the homeless population, but instead are staying vacant.
Now, I would never have the audacity to tell someone else what they should do with their money. I mean they earned it. It’s theirs to do with as they wish. I am merely pointing out a suggestion that instead of investing in real estate to inflate one’s bank account, that maybe a better investment would be one that enlarges your heart and soul. They’d still be investing in real estate, but it would instead be real estate for everyone instead of just the 1. Consider how much better these people would feel in the long run if they invested some of their earnings towards affordable housing for those in need instead of an apartment that costs $22,500,000 (the price tag for a single-family condo on Billionaires’ Row).
This is just my Op-Ed piece on the uneven distribution of wealth not only in America, but throughout the world. There is a whole lot of money out there, but it is controlled by a very few in comparison to the population of this planet. A quick anecdote, just a few weeks ago me and my wife went out with care packages to hand out to the homeless and were disheartened to see how many “tent cities” populate Chicago. This just one city with a large homeless population that is comparable to New York’s. Take into consideration the amount of homeless people living throughout the country, and the entire world. If New York’s “Billionaires Row” is a prime example of how wealth is unevenly distributed, then perhaps that real estate would be better served helping the multitudes that need it instead of the 1%. This is just one man speaking.
