Guest Op-Ed: Cities can lead the way to a stronger middle class
BY CHRISTINE QUINN
America’s middle class has faced decades of decline. A recent study by the Pew Research Center shows that only 51 percent of Americans are middle income today, down from 61 percent in 1971. Meanwhile, the net worth of middle class families has fallen 28 percent in the last 10 years.
In urban America, that middle class squeeze is exacerbated by a growing affordability crisis. Here in New York, the City Council just released a report that details some troubling trends. Unemployment rates for our middle class are the highest they’ve ever been at this stage in an economic recovery. Jobs paying middle class wages are increasingly scarce, and costs are rising much faster than incomes.