NEW YORK, NY January 27, 2006 —Two fiscal policy groups say New York State has the biggest income gap between the rich and poor. WNYC's Cindy Rodriguez reports.

The top 20 percent of wealthy families in the State make on average $130 thousand a year after taxes. That's compared to only $16 thousand for the state's poorest 20%. Even when New Yorkers' salaries are taken out, that wage gap remains nearly as wide.

When wages are adjusted for inflation, the groups found 20 percent of New York state residents have been making less than $8 an hour since 1990. Trudy Renwick with the Fiscal Policy Institute says when state and federal governments start cutting taxes for the wealthy, the income gap only gets worse. The reports used census date from 2001 to 2003.