Many New Yorkers 'asset poor'

Nearly 36 percent of New York State households don't have enough of a financial cushion to weather unemployment or an emergency that leads to a loss of income, according to a report out Tuesday.

"Growing numbers of Americans have almost no savings or other assets to fall back on if they lose their jobs or face a medical crisis," Andrea Levere, president of the Corporation for Enterprise Development, said in a statement. The nonprofit policy group in Washington, which issued the report, promotes improvements for low-income families.

"Without those savings, few will be able to invest in a more economically secure future, including buying a home, saving for their children's college educations or building a retirement nest egg," Levere said.

The report found that 35.5 percent of New York State households were "asset poor," compared with 27.1 percent nationally. Asset poor means a household doesn't have enough savings or property to support itself at the federal poverty level for three months if all income was cut off, such as through a job loss or sudden illness.

The scorecard also measured "liquid asset poverty," which excludes assets such as a home or car that cannot be easily converted to cash to provide a "more realistic picture of family resources" to meet emergency needs. Under that standard, 46.4 percent of New York State households were found to be "liquid asset poor," compared with 43.1 percent nationally.

Overall, New York State ranked 27th out of 51 among all states and the District of Columbia on how its residents fared in achieving financial security, according to the "Assets and Opportunity Scorecard," which has been released every two years over the last decade.

The states -- there is no breakdown by regions within states -- are ranked on 52 measures in five areas -- financial assets and income; businesses and jobs; housing and home ownership; health care; and education, primarily using U.S. Census Bureau data. The report also assesses how low-income families are affected by state policies.

New York got passing grades on all but housing and home ownership, which garnered an "F," largely due to the high cost of housing and low home ownership rates, said Jennifer Brooks, the report's co-author.

"New York has strong policies," such as assistance for first-time home buyers and "the strongest policy in the country on foreclosure prevention and protection," said Brooks, who is the corporation's director of state policy. However, she said, "Homes are not affordable" in the state, noting the report found that median home values are more than five times median income.

"Affordability is a problem," said Richard Guardino, dean of Hofstra University's Breslin Center for Real Estate Studies. "It's not surprising we'd be hurt on that ranking. The good news is a lot of effort has been put forward to try to remedy that, especially on the Island, to build affordable housing."

The Corporation for Enterprise Development conducts research and advocates for expanding economic opportunity for those with low incomes. Its scorecard report calls for a range of policy solutions, including tax credits for working families, changes in welfare policy and consumer protections from "predatory short-term loans."