The truth is that, rather than improving conditions for average residents of their cities, many urban politicians and interest groups have promoted policies that actually exacerbated a metastasizing underclass.They criticize a lot of Great Society social policies for basically meeting immediate needs without thinking about long term improvement. Valid sure, but not exactly ground breaking.
Local leaders had become convinced that becoming a "port of cool" was the ticket to success. Never mind the grubby fiscal and regulatory basics of encouraging business activity. Instead, city and state leaders adopted Richard Florida's trendy "creative class" theory...I've noticed this trend before, but I haven't heard it addressed. Cities and sometimes even states are turning their backs on major statewide industries to focus on what are essentially service sectors. Delaware has two major industries, credit card companies and chemical manufacturing. Of the two, chemical companies like DuPont are being left to rot, while the financial service industry is seen as the future. The revitalization of the Wilmington waterfront has not taken the form of bringing in new industry to use old buildings, it has taken the form of shops and boutiques.
I think this is ultimately very foolish. Basic industry is the foundation of the economy. The next tier of finance and transportation is also important. But we are becoming a nation of middlemen. Retail is not where the money is. It is not the productive part of the economy. We need to stop focusing on trendy shopping districts and revitalize the industrial base we have let languish.
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