I'm reminded of Jane Jacob's statement about the economics of cities: "To seek 'causes' of poverty in this way is to enter an intellectual dead end because pove

I'm reminded of Jane Jacob's statement about the economics of cities: "To seek 'causes' of poverty in this way is to enter an intellectual dead end because poverty has no causes. Only prosperity has causes." [0] To find that a small city that used to have a manufacturing plant is now struggling shouldn't really be surprising―the city never really had a robust economy, and it's hard to say that it really has a future. Getting a functioning economy that works is really a sort of black magic―when it happens, capture it! Our big cities are one of the surest places we see it, so maybe the real question isn't "why are people moving towards larger cosmopolitan cities," but "why are we making it so hard for our cities to accommodate them?" [0] http://www.efficology.com/the-gift-of-relationships/appreciating-government/455-jane-jacobs-the-economy-of-cities http://www.efficology.com/the-gift-of-relationships/apprecia...