Published:
Why Long Island Is Losing Its Middle Class
In a recent front-page story, Newsday covered a hard-hitting report released by the Long Island Association (LIA), the region’s largest business group, which details the region’s shrinking middle class and the rise of income inequality.
Newsday invited Michael Driscoll M.B.A. ’89, Ed.D., clinical assistant professor and senior executive in residence at Adelphi University’s Robert B. Willumstad School of Business, to comment on the trend.
“Long Island is becoming an area of affluence and one of poverty . . . the haves are getting bigger, and those that are struggling are getting bigger, and those in the middle are shrinking” Dr. Driscoll told Newsday.
Dr. Driscoll and others pointed to the closures of military contractors and the loss of well-paying union jobs that don’t require college degrees as drivers of the trend.
About Adelphi: A modern metropolitan university with a personalized approach to higher learning
Adelphi University, New York, is a highly awarded, nationally ranked, powerfully connected doctoral research university dedicated to transforming students’ lives through small classes with world-class faculty, hands-on learning and innovative ways to support academic and career success. Adelphi is one of just four companies and the only university on Long Island to be named among America’s Best Employers by State for 2023 by Forbes.
A surge in 2024 rankings by U.S. News & World Report—up 19 spots as a Best College, up 85 spots for Social Mobility and up 35 spots as a Best Value College—supports Adelphi’s rising reputation. Adelphi serves more than 7,400 students at its beautiful main campus in Garden City, New York—just 23 miles from New York City’s cultural and internship opportunities—and at dynamic learning hubs in Brooklyn, the Hudson Valley and Suffolk County, as well as online.
More than 119,000 Adelphi graduates have gained the skills to thrive professionally as active, engaged citizens, making their mark on the University, their communities and the world.
For further information, please contact:
Todd Wilson
Strategic Communications Director
p – 516.237.8634
e – twilson@adelphi.edu
