The Washington Post points to this article by “Bruce Katz, Mark Muro and Jennifer Bradley in the latest issue of the journal ‘Democracy‘” which argues that federal policies ought to focus on our metropolitan areas.
“The United States is not a single unified economy, they say, nor even a breakdown of 50 state economies. Instead, the country’s 100 largest metropolitan regions are the real drivers of economic activity, generating two-thirds of the nation’s jobs and three-quarters of its output. The sooner we reorient federal economic policies to support this “MetroNation,” the quicker we can fix the mess we’re in.”
An interesting thing about cities? They’re the bluest parts of our nation. We don’t really have red states and blue states, we have a red nation with an archipelago of blue urban centers voting for Democrats and creating most of the wealth.
That’s a brilliant way of looking at it. I’ve realized over the last decade what a city-centric person I am. I can’t even imagine moving outside of a heavy rural area anymore. There’s just no reason for it.