And like a kid a few days after Halloween, they are still eating the sweet candy. In a "few days," they will be at the dentist with a mouthful of cavities!
This would all be ok if we had a latter day Ronald Reagan waiting in the wings. At this point, Ron Paul is looking better and better. Sure, the messenger is shrill but the message is pretty spot on.
We, as Americans had better face the fact that we are returning to the 1870’s. If you are waiting for the calvary to ride into this movie and rescue the fort, you’d better get used to the idea of copulating with Indians ‘cause they ain’t coming. The calvary in this movie spent their budget on dead horses.
Some things to note about the article:
1. These industrial cities are not coming back.
2. What does that mean? No more budgetary money. We as former once great cities need to determine what of our legacy we are going to preserve and bulldoze the rest. If there is 1/3 the residents then do we have 1/3 the police, administrative staff, schools, fire, roads, houses, malls, stores, etc.
3.These cities had better get used to downsizing. They should spend their money consolidating. That means less police and more bulldozers. Less fire and more landscapers. Read about Olmstead and return your vast unused neighborhoods into buccollic landscapes. Incent the few remaining citizens to move from their last hold out houses in largely abandoned neighborhoods into mixed use zones near the heart of the city or give them a park like setting around where they live.
We have to have a plan to reverse industrial cities into small towns again. Everything has its season. The high water mark does not have to be maintained. Just because Madison Avenue had us believing we needed a new Cadillac every three years doesn’t mean we did. Just because big city mayors want to continue being prince of a greater city doesn’t mean they should.