New York City's $40 Million Investment, that generates a $1.8 Billion Annual Return, sounds too good to be true. But that's what New York is in line for, after its Investment in Census Outreach led the Federal Government to conclude the city's Population is much Higher than Expected, but New York will Loss One Seat in Congress.
The City Benefits from a Higher Population, because after Congress sets a Budget, Allocations for more than 130 Federal Programs are based, at least in part, on Population Size. Every New Resident means $3,000 in Additional Federal Money, Experts estimate. The 600,000 New New Yorkers tallied in last year's Census, therefore, means the City stands to collect $1.8 Billion in Extra Money from Washington, Annually, until the Next Census.
These Calculations are Approximate and would change, if Congress were to Cut Spending or Change Current Funding Formulas.
Albany has considerable Discretion in Distributing Federal Grants to Cities. But considering how New York Struggles to Balance its $100 Billion Budget, while Tax Collections from Hotels, Office Buildings, and other formerly Reliable Sources, are under Pressure, the Census-Fueled Federal Funding Amounts to Trillions of Pennies from Heaven.
"New York was a big winner from the census," said Andrew Reamer, a Census Expert at George Washington University's GW Institute of Public Policy. "They invested a lot of money in the count and now comes the benefits."
The effort began in, January 2020, when the City allocated the $40 Million to Count Residents. It Enlisted the help of 160 Community Organizations, to find them at a time when the White House made No Secret of its Desire to Undercount Urban Populations. "New York City has been on the front lines of the resistance against the Trump administration, and ensuring every New Yorker gets counted is central to that fight," Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) said, when Introducing his Plan to leave No Child or Adult behind. "No matter how hard the federal government tries to silence our diverse voices, we still stand up and be counted."
It had been, understood for years, that New York's Population was Higher than Reported. Barbara Denham, an Economist who closely Tracks Real Estate development, said that about a Decade ago she sent the City a File showing more than 8,000 Apartments were Built, on the Upper West Side between 2000 and 2010. But the Census showed fewer than 200. "It was absurd," said Denham, who works at Oxford Economics.
This time, after examining Property-Tax Records and other sources, the City submitted 143,000 Addresses from Newly Constructed Buildings to the U.S. Census Bureau. The City shared 122,000 previously Unknown Addresses, and 99.9% were Accepted. Altogether, 7% of New York's Housing Stock was Reported to the Census Bureau for the First time. The City estimates this Legwork, combined with Media Campaigns, resulted in counting 500,000 Residents who otherwise might have been missed.
Congress sets a Budget every year, but how the Money gets Divided-Up is determined in many Cases by Census Data. In 2016, the State of New York received $73 Billion worth of Federal Grants based on the 2010 Census. About Half was for Medicaid and the rest Distributed across more than 50 other Programs, including Title I Allocations to Educate Poor Children, providing Food and Rental Assistance for Urban and Rural Residents, and Training Workers for Jobs.
Below are some examples of Federal Assistance sent to New York City in 2017. Now that the City has Counted more People, it stands to Collect a Bigger Piece of the Pie:
- $779 MILLION Title I Allocations
- $150 MILLION Community Development Block Grants
- $57 MILLION Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Allocation
The Source for these numbers came from: Project on Government Oversight, GW Institute of Public Policy.
With a Population now at 8.8 Million, the City, is in line for Higher Federal Allocations for Scores of Programs, including: Affordable Housing; Medicare Prescriptio Drug Coverage; and Highway Construction. Ultimately, that Money cycles into Neighborhoods and goes to: Pharmacies, Landlords, and Contractors.
But the Big-Ticket Item is always Medicaid. Because New York is a Prosperous State, the Federal Government, Reimburses it for only Half its Medicaid Costs, which Clocked in at $35 Billion in 2016. Reimbursement Rates are determined by Dividing per Capita Income Overpopulation, and it's unlikely, even an 8% Jump in Population, is Sufficient to Lower New York's Per Capita Income, enough to compel the Federal Government to kick in more.
The City, however, does stand to Collect Additional Funding for: Preventive Health Block Grants, Maternal and Child Health Block Grants, and Food Stamps.
"Overall, if you have a greater population, at least some of the funding is going to increase," said Bruce Y. Lee, a Professor of Health Policy and Management at City University of New York's School of Public Health.
The One bit of Unfortunate News is that every Additional Dollar for New Yorkers, is One less Dollar for Residents of a Place, that Didn't try as hard to count its People. Reamer said Texas Committed No Resources to Census Outreach and he's heard from City Officials there who are "freaking out" because their Region's Slice of the Pie will Shrink. "If you undercount your people, you lose share," Reamer said. "This is a zero-sum game."
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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