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But I am still left wondering why Pittsburghers not only made different choices than did Detroiters, but made ones that were so vastly superior as to lead to th

But I am still left wondering why Pittsburghers not only made different choices than did Detroiters, but made ones that were so vastly superior as to lead to their city's becoming the best town in America even as Detroit transformed itself a post-apocalyptic wasteland whose denizens hunt raccoons for their flesh.

Kudzu_Bob 13y ago
In other words, one cannot really explain why the Western Roman Empire fell if he cannot account also for how the Eastern Roman Empire managed to last another thousand years.
Daniel_Newby 13y ago
Demographics. Detroit is 82% African and 31% minors. Pittsburgh is 26% African and 20% minors. And Pittsburgh has not had an insurrection in living memory.
- camus 13y ago
  that's a pretty racist statement backed up by no facts or causality. Detroit used to be rich even \w all these "African" as you call them.
  - Kudzu_Bob 13y ago
    Your first statement is an attempt to demonstrate moral superiority and therefore merits no response. Your second statement is misleading, in that it sweeps under the rug how Detroit's descent into poverty mirrored its changing demographics. You could, of course, attempt to disprove Daniel_Newby's contention that demographics is at the bottom of this. All that you need to do is provide a single counterexample by pointing out an instance--just one will suffice for our purposes--of a city that became richer or that economically speaking at least held its own even as the percentage of blacks comprising its population grew. This seems like a simple enough task.
    - selimthegrim 13y ago
      I believe Metro Atlanta would like a word with you.
      - Kudzu_Bob 13y ago
        I think that that city is too busy trying to keep the white suburbs from seceding, a move that would deprive Atlanta of its tax base, to have time to talk to the likes of me.
  - alvilla 13y ago
    I remember reading several articles about massive "white plight" in Detroit. Especially in the middle class. 1950 - 16% black 2000 - 81% black http://historydetroit.com/statistics/ http://historydetroit.com/statistics/
    - Kudzu_Bob 13y ago
      I believe that you mean "white flight," not "white plight," but a good catch on your part nonetheless.
  - Daniel_Newby 13y ago
    You really believe that? Congratulations, you have identified the greatest market development opportunity ever. Simply recruit a million Africans who are being kept down by racists like me, teach them to be engineers, and retire a billionaire on the recruiting commissions. Detroit used to be prosperous because blue collar Caucasians and Africans are damn valuable in a world without robots. Now they are cognitively obsolete. P.S. Bill Gates decided that the problem was that not everybody in our world of shameful inequalities could get a world-class university prep education. He paid out of his own pocket to make the pilot project happen. The result was ... almost no improvement.

Kudzu_Bob 13y ago

In other words, one cannot really explain why the Western Roman Empire fell if he cannot account also for how the Eastern Roman Empire managed to last another thousand years.

Daniel_Newby 13y ago

Demographics. Detroit is 82% African and 31% minors. Pittsburgh is 26% African and 20% minors. And Pittsburgh has not had an insurrection in living memory.

camus 13y ago
that's a pretty racist statement backed up by no facts or causality. Detroit used to be rich even \w all these "African" as you call them.
- Kudzu_Bob 13y ago
  Your first statement is an attempt to demonstrate moral superiority and therefore merits no response. Your second statement is misleading, in that it sweeps under the rug how Detroit's descent into poverty mirrored its changing demographics. You could, of course, attempt to disprove Daniel_Newby's contention that demographics is at the bottom of this. All that you need to do is provide a single counterexample by pointing out an instance--just one will suffice for our purposes--of a city that became richer or that economically speaking at least held its own even as the percentage of blacks comprising its population grew. This seems like a simple enough task.
  - selimthegrim 13y ago
    I believe Metro Atlanta would like a word with you.
    - Kudzu_Bob 13y ago
      I think that that city is too busy trying to keep the white suburbs from seceding, a move that would deprive Atlanta of its tax base, to have time to talk to the likes of me.
- alvilla 13y ago
  I remember reading several articles about massive "white plight" in Detroit. Especially in the middle class. 1950 - 16% black 2000 - 81% black http://historydetroit.com/statistics/ http://historydetroit.com/statistics/
  - Kudzu_Bob 13y ago
    I believe that you mean "white flight," not "white plight," but a good catch on your part nonetheless.
- Daniel_Newby 13y ago
  You really believe that? Congratulations, you have identified the greatest market development opportunity ever. Simply recruit a million Africans who are being kept down by racists like me, teach them to be engineers, and retire a billionaire on the recruiting commissions. Detroit used to be prosperous because blue collar Caucasians and Africans are damn valuable in a world without robots. Now they are cognitively obsolete. P.S. Bill Gates decided that the problem was that not everybody in our world of shameful inequalities could get a world-class university prep education. He paid out of his own pocket to make the pilot project happen. The result was ... almost no improvement.