New survey points to income inequality and anxiety among Californians

A survey by the Public Policy Institute of California has revealed considerable pessimism toward the future and immediate economic distress particularly among lower-income Californians interviewed in the grip of the pandemic. PPIC released “Californians and Their Economic Wellbeing,” a survey of 2,325 adult residents, including 1,000 lower-income adults, on Wednesday.

Among the findings:

• 63% think that children in California today will be worse off financially than their parents when they grow up, including 78% of whites and 47% of Latinos; 35% say children will be better off.
• 69% say the gap between rich and poor in their part of the state is getting wider, led by 78% in the Bay Area; 6% statewide say the gap is narrowing.
• 43% living in households earning less than $40,000 had with reduced work hours or pay and 42% cut back on food to save compared with 12% in households earning $80,000 or more.
• 78% say it is important for workers to organize, a view shared by majorities across parties, regions, and income and racial/ethnic groups.
• While 83% of Californians say racism is a problem in the US, 63% of Blacks say that racial and ethnic discrimination contributes “a great deal” to inequality, compared with 29% of whites.