"Older history books from the 1930's describe Detroit as one of this nation's gems. Not any longer."
Same deal here in Cleveland (#11). When I was growing up I believe we were the 6th largest city in the US. Now I think we're in the high 20s and falling.
And once the death spiral starts, I don't think there's any way to stop it. Fleeing wage earners just leads to higher taxes, which leads to more fleeing wage earners, etc...
What a shame. We really had a nice medium sized town here.
Anyone believing anything coming out of Berkeley is nonpartisan is fooling themselves immediately. And the fact Portland Oregon isn't on the list tells me this list is bogus.