Guest Post by Paul Craig Roberts
Recent decades have not been kind to American cities. Manufacturing cities were adversely impacted by the offshoring of manufacturing jobs. Cities that are destinations for the floods of third world immigrants are experiencing deteriorating budgets and infrastructure and population replacement. In 1960 native born white American citizens comprised 90% of California’s population. Today white Americans comprise 30% of the state’s population.
The 90% white population in 1960 did not require the support services that the 70% non-white population requires today, and there were no homeless people camping on the streets. Cities with black populations, Democrat regimes, and defunded police experience mob looting and burning of business districts. Covid lockdowns have taught white collar businesses that employees can work at home and the expense of collecting large numbers of people in office buildings can be avoided.
Covid lockdowns also taught people to shop online, and online penetration of retail sales has risen sharply. Estimates are that over the next 5 years the US will lose 81,000 to 150,000 retail stores and the jobs that go with them, with clothing, consumer electronics, home furnishings, sporting goods, and office supplies taking the largest hits. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-05/even-after-pandemic-retailers-seen-closing-thousands-of-stores?srnd=prognosis&sref=Y1NA6MHq
Think what this means for shopping centers and for cities.
Cities are not just becoming less pleasant and more dangerous places to live. Cities are losing their purpose and functions. Cities provide work forces for factories and offices. They provide stores where work forces provision themselves. They are transportation centers for people and goods. All of the changes noted above are eating into these purposes and functions of cities.
With so much of American manufacturing moved abroad, with the ability of white collar work and shopping to be done from home, and with the increase in dangers from city life and taxes for immigrant support, professional classes are likely to abandon cities for like-minded enclaves protected with gates and their own police.
Cities rise and fall like empires and civilizations. In my book, The Failure of Laissez Faire Capitalism, published eight years ago, I noted that the population of Detroit, Michigan, once America’s 4th largest city and a powerhouse of American manufacturing, experienced a 25% decline in population in the first decade of the 21st century. Gary, Indiana lost 22% of its population. St Louis, Missouri lost 20% with 19% of its housing units standing vacant. Flint, Michigan lost 18%. Cleveland, Ohio lost 17%. These loses were largely loses of middle class income people.
Authors who chronicle the decline of ancient civilizations could just as well turn their attention to the United States today. In 1950 life in America was safer, more enjoyable, more civilized, and more promising than in America today. Today life in America is barbaric, and it is on its way to worse.
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“Today life in America is barbaric, and it is on its way to worse.”
I do not find life in America to be barbaric, I find it quite enjoyable, but I seldom venture into a town larger that 50K population and avoid cities run by black democrats
Here is a mass shooting de jour in Austin, Tx.
https://on.rt.com/b6bz
du jour is right, Ghost…funny how whenever the government(or whoever runs the government)needs to bring guns to the fore in order to “regulate” them, it seems we have a rash of convenient shootings(the regular shootings in Chicago, et al, notwithstanding)…not that I would even hint at suggesting our government(or whoever runs our government)would have anything to do with causing any of those shootings…no, not at all – if I ever did that, I would be considered a conspiracy nut!
How did those cities become to be ruled by Democrats, and filled with feral niggers?
Who made that happen?
Probably could lay a lot of the Blame on LBJ and his Not So Great Society, followed by the federal courts with their busing orders. The good folks left the cities to the kneegrows and we all know they vote democrat to keep the OPM flowing.
Lay blame on Amerikan governance in general. The GOProgressive party is 49% culpable.
Congress made it happen, every last SOB voting for policies that would impoverish the very people who voted them in. That’s who!!!!
A big part in the decline of the listed cities: Gary ~ US Steel Gary Works/Arcelor Mittal (Cleveland Cliffs) Burns Harbor & Indiana Harbor; St Louis ~ US Steel Granite City; Detroit ~ US Steel Great Lakes; and Cleveland – Cleveland Cliffs Cleveland Works.
All were built when Iron ore was converted into steel. Their production has plummeted as the 20th century came to a close, and continued as the new century began. The formerly destroyed manufacturing capacity overseas from WW2 was rebuilt and overtook the US. The major steel producers are finally moving to steel recycling at mini mills, primarily via electric arc furnaces (good luck to them with the green energy grid).
Well-paying steel making and the related ancillary jobs have died with the transfer of steel production overseas. Same can be said of manufacturing jobs overall. See Fisher Body Plant 21 in Detroit as an example, same for the local shops that used to make chassis springs, seats, transmissions, etc. All empty. All derilict. All in shit hole neighborhoods.
Leaving USSGW after dark is against the unwritten policy of Gary Works, at it is for the other mills.
Well said, I agree completely. I worked as a contractor at one of those steel mills in the Gary area you mentioned. Drove thru the city of Gary everyday, yes the economy is crap, I was shocked at beautiful old buildings falling / collapsing in on themselves, quite sad. Local politicians promising better, never happens. Highway reconstruction forced traffic to drive down the main street of Gary, quite an education. But hey, they got a mural of the Jackson 5 since Gary is their birth place.
I just found an article that said the mural was destroyed!
Thank you Captain Obvious.
Lookie here. Dah. What everyone with a pea brain in NYC and San Fran can see. There ain’t nothin to do and no puss
y to see.
They aremoving out. Look at the real estate prices in Jackson Hole.
Well, Joni Mitchell said they paved paradise and put up a parking lot. I’m Ok with the tearing down of these monstrosities and planting some gardens.
The Counting Crows do it better.
Obviously PCR hasn’t been to Camden, NJ lately.
When the union industrial jobs went the tax base dwindled and the economic engine collapsed as did quality of life for all Americans ! Excluding those who benefit from the demise of others . That 1% able to take advantage of abusive labor practices that would never be tolerated by American workers . Then there is the government employee class whose salaries and benefits are covered by endless borrowing and passing that debt on to those most injured by this false economy of debt upon debt . The narrative that an American union wage was to high and their benefits to expensive to support .
If that is true than so is every cop , fireman , school teacher and everyone else that is paid by debt piled on the backs of former industry workers . Then add the illegal labor factor and it’s all over .
You got cash for weapons for Egypt and gender studies in east bumfuckastan !
FUCK YOU PAY ME !