City Journal seems to think that economic growth in New York City is at a standstill. While mayor Michael Bloomberg maintains that the local economy is "strong and growing stronger," the reality may be otherwise:

"Hold on a second. The picture is nowhere near as rosy as the mayor paints it. The city’s economy is stuck in neutral, and the budget could be deeply in deficit by next year... Under Bloomberg, New York is slipping back into an all-too-familiar pattern of lagging behind national job growth, after having outperformed the rest of the nation in the late 1990s under Mayor Rudy Giuliani."

What's all the more disturbing, Wall Street and the rest of the financial services industry is no longer acting as an engine of growth for the city:

"Equally troubling, the city slowly seems to be trading its reputation as a financial and mercantile capital for a place as America’s urban theme park and tycoon playground. Although New York is still probably the world’s financial capital, lately the city has mostly been producing employment in low-wage industries that serve tourists and the Bloomberg-style megarich..."