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Report: NYC's Middle Class Shrinking Like Kids In A Rick Moranis Movie
By
Christopher Robbins
Published May 21, 2012
Modified May 21, 2012
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$100 bill
By
Christopher Robbins
Published May 21, 2012
Modified May 21, 2012
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The top 1% of New York City's earners made more than a third of the city's income in 2009, according to a report by the Comptroller's office obtained by the Times. That's double what members of the 1% take in nationally. Shockingly, the city that supports a market for million-dollar parking spaces and run by a billionaire may be squeezing out the middle class.
In 2009, which is when the the most recent data is available, 31% of tax filers in the country earned $50K to $200K, representing 52% of all personal income. But in the city (yes, the actual city) only 28% of filers made it into that bracket, and that represented only 36% of the city's personal income.
You're not alone in feeling that itch to hurl a molotov cocktail into the window of Cipriani. A Pew Research Study shows that the percentage of Americans who feel there are "very strong" or "strong" conflicts between the rich and the poor rose 19 percentage points: it was 47% in 2009 and 66% in 2011.
If things are getting a little too tight for you here, just get in your Agusta SPA A109S helicopter and move. Or borrow money from your parents.
Tagged
income inequality
mayor bloomberg
Middle Class
rich people
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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