May 21, 2006- The Federal government all but admitted there’s no longer a middle class and that we’re all poor (Thanks for telling us the obvious). How you may ask did the Feds admit there’s no longer a middle class? Well, fairly simple – they released their new income standards on who qualifies for low income housing. And by that standard, more than 80% of Newark’s families can now be firmly classified as “low” income. In fact, under the new standard, more than 60% of Newark’s families qualify as very low income.

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, a family of four is considered low income if they earn $52,700; a very low income family of four can earn up to $32,950. The data is even more alarming when you look at the standard of extremely low income family of four: $19,750. Roughly 1/3rd of all Newark families find themselves in this lowest category.

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According to new federal guidelines, a one income earning family of four can have a job earning $9.50 per hour (More than 70% above the minimum wage) and still not sniff the “very low income” category.

For one-person households, a worker can earn $17.74 per hour and still be considered low-income. That means that all of our beginning public service professionals, from police to correction officers, from firefighters to social workers, all qualify as low-income without another earner in the household. Beginning teachers, barely, make it out of this dubious category.

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What the federal government doesn’t answer is the question of why. Why does it cost so much to live in NJ all for the honor of still being poor? And what policy-makers in New Jersey have to answer is how long can our economy, which continues to spit our low-wage retail jobs, sustain itself?

The middle class is disappearing faster than the ozone layer. The federal government has finally admitted as much. With Newark having an inordinate amount of extremely low income families, and with housing and gas prices spiraling out of control, the future does not look good. What happened to the American dream?

Yeah, I know you thought you were part of the middle class, but you’re not. I can’t help but be reminded of that scene from Deep Cover when David says, “There’s no such thing as an American anymore – no Hispanics, no Japanese, no blacks, no whites. It’s just rich people and poor people.” Sadly, this statement is becoming increasingly valid.