Posted on 08/30/2009 9:34:00 PM PDT by Lorianne
Urban politicians have widely embraced the current concentration of power in Washington, but they may soon regret the trend they now so actively champion. The great protean tradition of American urbanism--with scores of competing economic centers--is giving way to a new Romanism, in which all power and decisions devolve down to the imperial core.
This is big stuff, perhaps even more important than the health care debate. The consequence could be a loss of local control, weakening the ability of cities to respond to new challenges in the coming decades.
Although the district itself has relatively high rates, unemployment in Virginia and Maryland--where most government-related workers live--has remained around 7% while the nation's rate approaches 10%.
The reason is obvious: an explosion of government amid a decline in the private sector. Factories may be closing in Michigan, tech jobs and farms may be disappearing in California, but the people who grease the skids of the ever-expanding federal machine seem to be doing just fine.
This is most evident at the top of the job market. The capital region now boasts the healthiest technology employment picture in the nation. Virginia has the highest proportion of tech workers in the nation. Maryland ranks fifth, and the district itself is seventh.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
And small business is being strangled out of existence.
Look at Cuba and other countries where 90% of the people are impoverished, 9% work for the government and 1% are the elite and are rich to boot.
Is that where we are headed?
Yes.
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