Free Republic

Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire. This is what American cities looked like a century ago. Everything you see here was demolished. Why?

Murders have dropped by up to 20% in some major US cities — including the Big Apple — so far this year, according to a new report. New York City has seen a 15% dip in killings in the first three months of 2024 compared to the same period last year, the Wall Street Journal said. The five boroughs had 88 murders in that time period, a significant dip over the 104 in 2023, the outlet said.

“The office district is empty, with boarded up towers, copper thieves, and failing retail,” reports the Wall Street Journal of Democrat-run St. Louis, Missouri. “[E]ven the Panera outlet shut down. The city is desperately trying to reverse the ‘doom loop.’” Let’s look at the mayoral history of the doom-looping St. Louis, shall we? Oh, look, there hasn’t been a Republican mayor in St. Louis since — not a typo — 1949. For 75 years, the people of St. Louis have voted for More of the Same, so excuse me if I don’t whip out a violin over all this unavoidable...

A man with a needle in his arm. Streets littered with trash. Constant retail theft. Cars with broken windows from smash-and-grab auto burglaries. These are some of the images that have been used recently to describe San Francisco. But even if that narrative may have been accurate a year ago, it is now contrary to what we generally see in San Francisco today. In the San Francisco of spring 2024, you instead find commuters grabbing coffees and heading in to their offices; tourists admiring the streets comprised of unique Edwardian and Victorian architecture; friends enjoying the fresh fish at outdoor...

The 75 largest cities in America were collectively $288 billion in debt at the end of fiscal year 2022... 53 major cities that do not have enough money to pay their bills. Yet all of them claimed their budgets were balanced, as is required by law. That means lawmakers understated each city’s debt by not including future costs like employee pensions and healthcare ... New York City has a taxpayer burden of $61,800, the largest by far despite being the most populous. The city has only six cents saved up for every dollar it will need to spend on retiree...

In a recent monologue, Greg Gutfeld focused on some of the high profile crimes that have happened in New York City over the past few weeks and the lame response from the people in charge. Greg talks about the Democrats and their obsession with bail reform and how this places a higher priority on the rights of criminals, instead of law abiding citizens. Despite a lot of talk from Mayor Adams and others, things keep getting worse. Partial transcript via FOX News: So here in New York City, the subway system is running a special lottery, but unlike my used...

For decades, Democrats have controlled the nation’s largest cities. The results have been catastrophic, including high crime rates, blight, failing public educational systems, rampant poverty, and an expanding homeless population. These horrific outcomes are due to Democrats supporting failed policies, such as raising taxes, increasing regulations, growing the government, and refusing to prosecute violent criminals. Consequently, citizens voted with their feet and left in droves, a trend which has started to accelerate. For example, while the country’s population soared sixty million to 341 million since 2000, it was a much different situation in the progressive hellhole of Chicago. The “Windy...

When a wave of migrants began arriving in Democratic-run cities far from the Southern border two years ago, officials welcomed them with open arms. Now they’re limiting aid to new arrivals as their instinct for compassion confronts hard budgetary realities. In recent days, New York and Chicago — two of the nation’s largest cities — have instituted substantial changes to their shelter policies. In Chicago, the city began evicting migrants who had overstayed a new 60-day time limit, saying it did not have the resources to meet the need. In New York, migrants had benefited from the city’s right to...

Reading a campaign speech in Milwaukee this week, Joe Biden boasted of a plan to spend some $36 million on a stretch of 6th Street, just west of downtown Milwaukee. His speechwriter had him listing such federally funded benefits as bike lanes, newly planted trees, and bus lanes to make 6th Street a prettier place to be. And sure, it might at that. Trees are always lovely for pedestrians, though they can obstruct the view of pedestrians, drivers, and bicyclists alike. And bicycles and buses are always generically popular, even though in Milwaukee they each tend to have about the...

“…[F]or I have seen violence and strife in the city. Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof: mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it." - Psalm 55:9,10 There is a Mexican NGO called the Consejo Ciudadano para la Seguridad Pública y la Justicia Penal, A.C. which releases an annual list of the world’s 50 most violent cities. The country with the most violent cities on the list was Mexico, with 16. In second place was Brazil, with 10 cities, followed by Colombia with eight. The United States of America was #4 on the...

(NEXSTAR) — Any time you’re looking for a home or new place to live, several factors play a role in your decision. How are the schools? What’s the downtown life like? Is there a Walmart nearby? But we can probably agree that two of the biggest factors in your decision are likely safety and cost. Thanks to some research from personal finance site MoneyGeek, we may have some guidance for you. To find out which cities are both “safe” and “affordable,” MoneyGeek analyzed the safest small and mid-to-large cities in the U.S. Then they factored in the following stats: recent...

(NEXSTAR) — Even if your paycheck is slightly larger this year, you may find yourself on a tight budget, with housing, groceries, and more still sporting high price tags. A recent survey shows most Americans can hardly afford a $1,000 emergency. Unsurprisingly, where you live can have an impact on the wiggle room — or lack of it — in your budget. Personal finance site SmartAsset recently reviewed data from the MIT Living Wage Calculator, which estimates the living wage needed to support various family sizes across the country based on expenditure data for food, childcare, insurance, housing, transportation, and...

A noticeable trend is emerging as people pack their bags and relocate, with a clear pattern of migration from Democrat-controlled cities to Republican-leaning havens. The top destinations for those seeking greener pastures include Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tampa, Orlando, and Sacramento, signaling a shift in residential preferences. Conversely, the cities experiencing an exodus are predominantly from Democratic strongholds – San Francisco, New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, and Chicago. What’s driving this migration pattern?

Joe Biden was slammed online after claiming that the crime rate in the US has fallen to the lowest point its been in half a century. Biden has claimed that during the Trump Administration, “America saw the largest increase in murders ever recorded,” while “Under the Biden-Harris Administration, there has been a significant decrease in crime — including one of the largest yearly declines in homicides ever.” Respondents noted that Biden completely ignored a huge spike in violent crime in large, mostly Democrat run, cities. Biden made the comments while touting a fact sheet on what he’s done to “fight...

A majority of America's largest cities are broke and unable to meet their liabilities, according to a new analysis. In its eighth annual Financial State of the Cities report, the right-leaning think tank Truth in Account determined that as of 2022, 53 of the country's 75 largest cities have fewer assets than liabilities. The report notes:At the end of the fiscal year 2022, 53 cities did not have enough money to pay all of their bills. This means that to claim their budgets were balanced—as is required by law in the 75 cities—elected officials have not included the actual costs...

On Friday’s broadcast of HBO’s “Real Time,” host Bill Maher stated that under our current system, immigration hasn’t been positive for the U.S. and the reaction of sanctuary cities to having migrants bused to them shows this. Maher began by saying that “some immigration” is “the lifeblood of this country.” Later in the segment, CNN Senior Political Commentator and former Obama Adviser Van Jones stated, “Immigration is good for America. It’s positive for America.”

The past few years have been one of the worst periods for first-time homebuyers in America's history.Record home prices, chronically low inventory, 22-year-high mortgage rates, and bidding wars with cash- and equity-flush buyers have locked many younger buyers out of the housing market.According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), first-time homebuyers made up just 32% of all transactions last year—the fourth lowest share seen in more than 40 years.While would-be homeowners bide their time, Creditnews Research looked at America’s 50 largest metro areas to uncover housing markets that are still attractive for first-time buyers.Our ranking shows how easy it...

Former President Donald Trump predicted that there is a “100% chance of a major terror attack in the not-too-distant future” under President Joe Biden’s open border policies.Trump said that “terrorists” who were crossing into the United States made U.S. prisoners look like “very nice people” and touted the success of his “travel ban,” which blocked people from specific countries from entering the country.“Under Biden, millions of illegals are now pouring into our country, and these include terrorists,” Trump said during a speech at the National Rifle Association’s gathering in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on Friday. “You have a 100% chance of a...

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has requested a special meeting with the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus. The Metropolitan Mayors Caucus is made up of 25 mayors from surrounding suburbs all grappling with the growing migrant crisis. Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso will be in that special meeting at 4 p.m., and he spoke with ABC7 on Monday morning. "I think all mayors want to be sure that their residents are safe and the migrants are safe, and that we have an understanding of how the process is going to work when migrants come," Grasso said. Meanwhile, a nonprofit group...

doesn’t matter which big American city you go to these days, most are in absolutely horrendous condition. The public transportation system stinks of human waste. My old friend Professor Paul Magelli from the University of Illinois told me that when he took the Amtrak from Champaign to Chicago, it smelled like “piss”. Trains in other countries didn’t smell like that. Richard Florida is a big urbanologist. He is an elite for sure. He tweeted out this article and it is worth reading. The author of the article is aware of what is happening in American cities, but like Richard Florida,...