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Of course that has nothing to do with my point that NYers work harder and faster than the rest of the country, but then I'm only basing that on over two decades of experience.

I don't know what business you're in, but I can assure you that this is not the case across the board. In fact, many of the businesses that have left New York over the years have done so because New Yorkers simply aren't as productive as people in other places.

Here's a perfect case in point . . . it's a ranking of the world's major ports based on their container terminal productivity (U.S. ports shown in bold):

1. Hong Kong
2. Shanghai
3. Pusan
4. Hamburg
5. Rotterdam
6. Long Beach
7. Tacoma
8. Montreal
9. Los Angeles
10. Antwerp
11. Seattle
12. Oakland
13. Charleston
14. New York

Yeah, New Yorkers work harder and faster than people do anywhere else in the country.

FWIW, I've done business in places all over North America in the last 15 years. New York City stands out in my mind for two particular things: (1) excessive red tape and high costs; and (2) it was the first place I've ever been in the U.S. where I came across people with marginal English competence even when their sole job function involves interaction with the general public (receptionists, telephone operators, restaurant hosts, etc.).

Based on both your first-hand experience and the list of most productive ports in your post, you have great reasons to question the productivity and value of new yorkers. Even Jack Welch--one of the high priests of productivity--insults the quality of people in nyc:

There are more mediocre people making more money on Wall Street than any other place on earth.

Some new yorkers may make lots of money, but to Jack Welch, money's not the real measure of a person or a person's productivity. Based on his evaluation, Welch thinks most wall streeters just don't make the cut.