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08 July 2009 7:45 AM
In the City
The Wall Street Journal reports:
U.S. cities that for years lost residents to the suburbs are holding onto their populations with a mix of people trapped in homes they can't sell and those who prefer urban digs over more distant McMansions, according to Census data released Wednesday.
Growing cities are growing faster and shrinking cities are losing fewer people, reflecting a blend of choice and circumstance.
Lewis McCrary considers the political implications:
I suggest pointing out how public employee unions are enriching their members on the public dime. The coming pension crisis will drive the point home.If it is to return to electoral success, the Right must craft a message that appeals to more urban and inner suburban voters. Large scale federal "urban renewal" policy has typically produced disastrous results, especially in the federal city itself. Conservatives should speak out against more federal spending as the solution to urban problems, but must also present alternatives.
While making the case that federal bureaucrats aren't to be trusted in shaping urban policy, conservatives must become involved in grassroots city politics. Perhaps new leaders might emerge in the mold of one-time-candidate for Mayor of New York Norman Mailer, who recognized that city authorities have a role to play in solving social problems while simultaneously insisting on neighborhood and community self-determination, free from domination by large-scale bureaucracies and corporate interests.
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