More Middle Class crunch from Bush policies

Brookings analysis of census data uncovered an accelerated decline in middle class communities living in and around cities during the 2000-05 period. It far outpaced the 7% decline between 1970 and 2000 plunging by more than 10% in Baltimore, Chicago, LA and Philadelphia and by 21% in Indianapolis. In LA, poor neighborhoods are down 10% while rich neighborhoods are up 14%. Part of this decline is the lure of the increasing number of upscale houses built in the suburbs that are becoming progressively more unattainable for the traditional middle class. In Indianapolis, between 2000 and 2004, 27, 500 new houses were build while the population grew by only 3000. By contrast, a chronic undersupply of housing on the west coast has contributed to a decline in middle class neighborhoods there. Between 1990 and 2002 in LA population grew 11% while the number of housing units grew 5%.