That's a good point. The author argues that the small towns of America have frittered away their wealth. His sub-point is to argue that wealth is, well, what ex

That's a good point. The author argues that the small towns of America have frittered away their wealth. His sub-point is to argue that wealth is, well, what exactly? Obviously a vibrant downtown with nice shops is certainly valuable to some people. But economic activity has always chased the faster, newer and cheaper. Asking it to go the other way is a tall task, always has been, always will be. The point of the matter is, we need a lot of stuff. Scaling is still very much something America and the world needs, much more so than nicely landscaped downtowns. I read that article about diapers and just how sophisticated they really are, just how much R&D goes into them and how thin the profit margins are on them. Wanting cheaper diapers won't magically make it so. Americans choose what they want, and asking people to want different things is ultimately saying you're smarter than them. You might want a JC Penney's, but the struggling housewife next door wants a Dollar General if she can't get a Wal-Mart.