Brookings: Only 3 major cities seeing economic recovery

American Thinker ^ | 11/30/2012 | Rick Moran

[SeekAndFind]

Four more years! Four more years!

Reuters:

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Retailers moving into old downtown buildings, an abundance of freshly planted greenspaces, and a stream of new jobs in Knoxville, Tennessee, are all signs to Mayor Madeline Rogero that for the last year prosperity has been blooming in her city.

"We feel very good about how we're coming out of this recession," Rogero said. "We see new interest. We see new development that's occurring. We're optimistic that this recovery is going to continue."

Knoxville is a member of a very small club. Three and a half years since the 2007-09 economic recession ended, only three major U.S. metropolitan areas are experiencing an economic recovery, according to the Brookings Institution.

The Washington-based research group has also deemed Dallas and Pittsburgh in recovery after analyzing their employment levels and gross domestic product per capita. The United States has the most major metropolitan economies of all countries - 76 - according to an annual report on the 300 largest metropolitan economies worldwide that Brookings released on Friday.

"It was still better than last year when the U.S. had no metro recoveries," Brookings Associate Fellow Emilia Istrate said.

Istrate said the three cities had two features in common: strong local services such as healthcare, and business and financial services that cater to specific industries. The recession came late to many city budgets. Their primary revenue source - property taxes - took time to fall because of lags in real estate valuations. By the time they dropped, cities were also contending with falling sales and income taxes resulting from job losses. Many of the splinters the downturn drove into their budgets remain deeply lodged, and cities of all sizes worry about federal spending cuts that are part of the "fiscal cliff."

[Graewoulf]

Obamanation Communism File.

[JRandomFreeper]

cities were also contending with falling sales and income taxes resulting from job losses.

Somehow, I feel safer when governments, at any level, have less money.

/johnny

[sarasota]

Not to worry. Through the magic of Agenda 21 and the relocation to cities to redistribute the wealth, cities will surely recover and prosper. /s

[steve8714]

Knoxville has the University and its high-paid staff and the capitol to inflate property valuess and tax receipts.

[TYVets]

"It was still better than last year when the U.S. had no metro recoveries," Brookings Associate Fellow Emilia Istrate said.

4% of the cities are seeing growth.

96% are not.

0bama's agenda is working. (/s)

[The Duke]

One has only to look at the demographics of Middle and East TN to begin to understand. That’s why I’m working desperately to move my own company to that region.

[AZLiberty]

Istrate said the three cities had two features in common: strong local services such as healthcare, and business and financial services that cater to specific industries.

Bah! In Texas it's natural gas. Pittsburgh is benefiting from the natural gas boom. And even Tennessee is not immune.

Frack on!