Weiner To Co-Chair Bi-Partisan Caucus On Middle Class
BY JOHN TOSCANO

At a time when the middle class citizens in the United States are facing greater financial challenges than ever before, according to Congressmember Anthony Weiner, the Queens/Brooklyn lawmaker has created a bipartisan Congressional caucus to focus on developing solutions and legislation to protect this segment of American society and those struggling to move upward into this group.

In announcing the formation of the Congressional Caucus on the Middle Class with Republican Congressmember Steven C. LaTourette of Ohio, Weiner stated: "It's becoming more and more difficult for middle class families like the one I grew up in to make it. Whether it's making housing more affordable or quality health care more accessible, this group [the new caucus] is going to protect the middle class and those struggling to make it."

Citing another example of efforts needed to help the middle class, Weiner pointed out that a study done by his staff found that more than 500,000 New Yorkers are spending 50 percent or more of their income on rent, a 14.9 percent increase since 1999.

The lawmaker, stated: "If New York City is going to be the middle class capital of the world, then we need to have places where middle class families can afford to live."

Weiner said he has developed a five-part plan to deal with the problem of affordable housing by expanding and preserving housing options in New York City and authoring new legislation to spur more private investment in so-called 80-20 housing.

The plan also includes restoration of cuts to the federally subsidized Section 8 housing program; reviving senior housing programs; fully funding public housing; increasing federal bonds for private builders, and cracking down on bad landlords.

Weiner, who plans to run for mayor next year, said the creation of the caucus to focus on this segment of our society, comes at a time when middle class families are facing greater financial challenges than ever before, according to a recently released report from the highly regarded Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.

The report on this group, which is positioned between lower and upper income economy groups, found that fewer Americans, now than at any time in the past half century, believe they're moving forward in life.

Paul Taylor, executive vice president of the Pew organization and lead author of the study entitled, "Inside the Middle Class: Bad Times Hit the Good Life," stated: "Our report finds that a majority of middle class Americans feel stuck in their tracks. They say that in the past five years, they either haven't moved forward in life or have fallen backward. But at the same time, two-thirds say they have a higher standard of living than their parents had."

According to Wiener, the key findings of the Pew report were that about half of all Americans think of themselves as middle class and are a "varied lot when it comes to their incomes", but since 1999 have not made economic progress.

The report found that for the past two decades, middle income Americans have been spending more and borrowing more, and housing has been the key driver of both trends.

Weiner added that the report found that at a time when these borrow-and-spend habits have spread, Americans say it has become harder to sustain a middle-class life style.