For all the talk about how Asians are the model minority in this country and how much disposable income we have, there’s not much talk about how 10.2% of Asians in this country live below the poverty line. That number is higher of course in urban areas.

In New York City, despite the perception of so many wealthy Asians in the city, nearly 1 in 5 Asians live below the poverty line and 40% live in the low-income tax bracket. The Asian American Federation put together a detailed study which you can download here. It’s an eye opening read if all of this is new to you.

It seems that people, community leaders especially, are looking to change things as highlighted in this video by our friend Ti-Hua Chang:

Politics isn’t something we normally keep an eye on here on Ningin, but this kind of stuff hits a soft spot for me. Lots of Asian local politicians in NYC run on the platform of change and better futures. We just might take a closer look at some of the races and Asian candidates to really see if change is coming for Asians at the local level in this new “Yes We Can” world.