Word: metropolitan
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...economic theatre" of the budget battle, the skeptics overlook some distinctions that are crucial to the issue. While metropolitan areas may be wealthy as a whole, this wealth is far from evenly distributed...
Data from the 1960 Census validates their point. At that time, average per capita income in SMSA's (Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas) was 52 per cent higher than in non-SMSA's. And the New York metropolitan area had an average per capita income 15 per cent higher than the average SMSA. Since 1960 these relationships have remained approximately the same. It is not unreasonable then to ask why the cities, particularly New York City, are complaining about not having enough money...
Again according to the 1960 Census, average personal income in the New York metropolitan region (SMSA) was $2,422. However, this hides the fact that New York City's average personal income was $2,306 while the outlying suburbs...
HOWEVER, there are more substantive reasons why a crisis atmosphere prevails. Accepting the skeptics' point that there is presently a disproportionate amount of wealth in metropolitan areas, one cannot overlook the dynamics of annually balancing the local budget. Things do tend to get worse over time. This is explained by the relatively simple concept of a "fiscal gap" or a "fiscal imbalance...
...fiscal gap" is said to occur when, as metropolitan income rises, revenue from a given local tax structure (at fixed rates) grows more slowly than expenditures required for a given program structure (at fixed quality). In "economies," the elasticity of taxes with respect to income is less than the elasticity of expenditures...