Main Findings

Although the sample is not statistically significant per se, some correlations between certain variables were significant at a 95% level of confidence. These correlations and other major differences are pointed out throughout the report, especially those that highlight the variation in perspective between sectors. Some of the main findings include:

HARDER TO ENTER THE MIDDLE CLASS

∑         With near unanimity – 92 percent – respondents agree that it is harder to enter the middle class today then it was ten years ago. This includes over one in two who say it is “much harder.” 

MIDDLE CLASS INCOME

∑         While New York City’s median family income is $49,374 a year, the New York City leaders surveyed think that it actually takes $75,000-$135,000 annually for a family of four to have a middle-class standard of living in New York. For a single individual, the middle class range is $45,000 - $90,000.

MIDDLE CLASS STANDARD OF LIVING

∑         Having health insurance, owning a computer with internet access, holding a full-time job, and sending children to a quality public school are essentials of a middle-class standard of living in New York according to the leaders surveyed.

∑         Having reasonable housing expenses and not having to share living space with a roommate are far more likely to be seen as part of the city’s middle-class standard than homeownership. Only a third of survey respondents think owning a house, condominium, or co-op is a middle-class essential in New York.

TOP CHALLENGES FOR THE MIDDLE CLASS

∑         “Affordable rent” tops the list of the middle class’s biggest challenges. Two out of three respondents describe affordable rent as one of the top three middle-class concerns in the city and it is the only one to get a majority response.

∑         Almost one in two respondents cite health insurance as a top challenge, 44 percent say being able to buy a home is among the foremost challenges, and 41 percent say a good education for one’s children.

∑         Less than one percent of respondents regard high property taxes as among the most pressing challenges for New York City’s middle class.

THE IMPACT OF PAST POLICIES ON THE MIDDLE CLASS

∑         The last decade of housing policies had a significant impact on the city’s middle class, for both good and ill. Affordable housing construction under Mayors Koch and Bloomberg benefited the city’s middle class, according to our respondents, while the weakening of rent control legislation and the prevalence of subsidies for luxury real estate development harmed middle-class New Yorkers.

∑         The city’s success in reducing crime boosted the middle class. Respondents point out that increased public safety gave New Yorkers more options of neighborhoods to live in, helped the economy by increasing tourism and consumer spending and improving the city’s investment climate, prevented middle-class flight and reduced fear.

∑         The decline of the city’s public schools hurt the middle class, although many of our respondents believe that mayoral control of the schools and efforts to get more funding from the state are yielding positive results.

∑         Middle-class New Yorkers suffered from poor economic development policies over the past ten years. Respondents say that city and state policies privileged luxury real estate development over the creation of stable middle-class jobs.

EFFECTIVENESS OF ACTIONS TO STRENGTHEN AND EXPAND THE MIDDLE CLASS

∑         New York City leaders agree: building more government-funded affordable housing and increasing funding for k-12 education would be very effective at strengthening and expanding the city’s middle class.

∑         Other education and housing policies – reducing class size, increasing availability of after-school programs, and providing tax incentives to build more affordable housing – also rate as highly effective.

∑         Cutting property taxes and reducing income taxes across the board are considered the least effective in helping the city’s middle class, falling below reducing traffic congestion and well below maintaining clean parks in terms of their perceived effectiveness.

POLICIES THAT WOULD BENEFIT THE MIDDLE CLASS

∑         The overwhelming consensus[1] among New York City leaders surveyed is that the following policies would benefit the city’s middle class: 

o        A more progressive income tax structure;

o       Mandatory inclusionary zoning, requiring that the city only provide property tax breaks, public subsidies, or zoning changes if housing units are made permanently affordable to current and aspiring middle-class New Yorkers;

o       Public full-day pre-kindergarten;

o       Expanding income eligibility for state subsidized health insurance programs like Family Health Plus;

o       Requiring large businesses to provide health insurance to all employees;

∑         Strong majorities of respondents also say that enacting living wage legislation and eliminating tuition for city residents at the City University of New York would be positive for the city’s middle class.

∑         A majority of respondents say the current practice of using public funds to assist private real estate development harms the middle class, and most also agree the middle class would be harmed by school vouchers.

HOW TO PAY? CUTTING SPENDING/RAISING REVENUE

∑         Eliminating tax loopholes for businesses, a policy proposed by Governor Spitzer, is the leading choice (favored by 83 percent of respondents) for increasing revenue to pay for programs that benefit the middle class.

∑         Making income taxes more progressive is also widely supported.

∑         83 percent of respondents advocate reducing waste, duplication and fraud in government as a way to cut public sector costs.

∑         The leaders surveyed oppose increasing sales or income taxes across the board, reducing spending on city programs across the board and cutting health and pension benefits for city employees.

DIFFERENCES AMONG THE SECTORS

∑         Overall, the survey finds substantial convergence of opinion across the sectors of city leaders surveyed.

∑         However, in some areas the sectors differ. Business leaders, in particular, sometimes see things differently from other groups of respondents: majorities in the business sector regard policies like charter schools and public funding for private real estate development as positive for the middle class, while other sectors are more likely to see these proposals as negative.

∑         When it comes to policies like instituting a living wage, closing business tax loopholes, or requiring large companies to pay for employee health insurance, however, solid majorities of business leaders agree that their own sector could do more to benefit the middle class.

∑         Most respondents do not favor tax cuts as strongly as those in the political sector, which includes elected and appointed officials at the city, state, and community board level. Political leaders are also more likely to think the middle class is helped by job creation subsidies for businesses.

PRESS REPORTING ON THE MIDDLE CLASS

∑         A majority (57 percent) of respondents say the press does a poor job of informing middle class about the connection between their interests and public policy/legislative debates.

∑         Less than 12 percent say the press is doing a good or excellent job reporting on the need to strengthen and expand the middle class.