So It Begins... Sterling Heights Sees Nation's Steepest Income Drop!
Man... What happened? SMH @ how one of the pseudo greats has fallen.
....................
Census: Sterling Heights sees nation's steepest income drop
Mike Wilkinson The Detroit News
September 28, 2010 20:22 PM
Michigan families have been hit the hardest by the recession, with incomes plummeting and poverty rising at rates seen nowhere else in the country, according to the U.S. Census Bureau statistics released today.
Median household income for the state in 2009 was 21.3 percent below 2000 levels, the biggest drop in the nation and 6.5 percent lower than 2008. And the poverty rate, although not the highest in the nation at 16.2 percent, rose the fastest among all states since 2000, according to the U.S. Census.
With economists now saying the recession ended in 2009, it could be that the income drop seen last year will provide the bottom for the state. But a substantial bottom it is: The median household income was $42,255, more than $12,000 lower than the median was at in 2000 when adjusted for inflation.
Locally, Sterling Heights recorded the steepest income drop off all U.S.
cities with a population of 65,000 or more, shedding more than $25,000 in annual income. The city had a 2009 median household income of $51,545, more than third lower than its $77,873 median income in 2000.
http://m.detnews.com/detail.jsp?key=...&rc=top&full=1
Sterling Heights Suffers Nation's Steepest Income Loss
Oops, overlooked MrSam's post... Threads merged.
The destruction of the American middle class isn't just limited to Detroit and our poor inner cities.
Sterling Height has the dubious distinction of having the largest income decline in the country.Locally, Sterling Heights recorded the steepest income drop off all U.S. cities with a population of 65,000 or more, shedding more than $25,000 in annual income. The city had a 2009 median household income of $51,545, more than third lower than its $77,873 median income in 2000. Similar drops were recorded in Kalamazoo and Detroit.
Nationwide, median household income is down just 2.9 percent from 2008 and 6.6 percent from 2000. Michigan's national ranking during that time went from 16th in 2000 to 35th in 2009.
Much of the decline is attributed to the loss of hundreds of thousands of high-paying, yet lower-skill manufacturing job that once were the backbone of the state economy. As many of those jobs vanished, workers were forced to find alternative work in lower-paying industries.
Detroit News Article