I think that Henry Grabar is wrong in his piece at Slate. As long as the primary economic policy consists in dividing the spoils small towns do have to die if large metropolitan areas are to prosper. When government at all levels is primarily in the business of redistribution the spoils will necessarily go to the places where they’ll bring the most votes, i.e. major metropolitan areas.
There is an alternative but it would involve reforms along the lines I suggested earlier which would hurt those major metropolitan areas disproportionately. Don’t expect them any time soon.
I am pretty sure that when I had looked at this a few years ago, it turns out that the major cities generally pay more in taxes, federal and state, than does the rest of the state in which they reside. It was also true that more of the spending went disproportionately, of state monies, to areas other than the large cities. Short on time to confirm this, but if I am remembering correctly, isn’t the issue whether or not we can continue to subsidize rural areas and smaller cities. (Or, is there a breakdown somewhere, maybe I missed it in this piece, showing the small cities are actually subsidizing large cities and rural areas?)
Steve
The article isn’t just about small towns, but also small and mid-size cities.
I’m sure I’m atypical. As we travel around the country we are looking for a place to settle down for a while so the kids can have a normal high school experience. We’ve pretty much ruled out every major metro area so we’re looking at small and mid-size cities. There are actually a lot of very good ones out there. So I’m not sure the situation is as dire as the author makes it out to be.
Definitions are important here, but IIRC Lyman Stone who blogs on migration trends showed that growth was more in the medium metro range (which might be in the top 30s-50s), and some of the largest metros that don’t contain Silicon Valley, Wall Street or the seat of the federal government, might be experiencing resistance to further growth.
Well, steve, under your construction since foodl tends to be cultivated or raised in rural areas we should let the cities starve. Or maybe $400 per bundle of radishes………. and if the Chinese attack, hey, New York, you are on your own.
I don’t know your reference PD, but in our business travels we talk to many who would echo your observation.