LookieNoNookie
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Zonie63
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One thing that's always baffled me about the issue of urban poverty is that it usually tends to focus on the larger, "major league" cities, such as Detroit, Philadelphia, Chicago, etc., while failing to take into consideration that most poverty is in rural areas and the smaller "minor league" cities.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowest-income_counties_in_the_United_States
Compared to smaller cities and rural areas, the large cities have rather high rents and living expenses. The people who live in those cities have to have higher wages in order to live. Workers in NYC will typically earn higher wages than their counterparts in places like Texas or South Dakota.
As far as bringing jobs and economic opportunities to both cities and rural areas, that would involve challenging certain "Sacred Cows" held by the economic intelligentsia in this country. That's where the problems come into play, since these cities didn't fall apart overnight. It took decades of neglect, compounded by misguided economic, domestic, and foreign policies, and all levels of government should take the blame, not just local government (although there are some local governments which are pretty sleazy, like that of Bell, California). I don't know how widespread such wanton corruption and theft is going on in the local governments, but there have been a few cases here - where millions of dollars (even hundreds of millions) turns up missing and nobody knows where it went. I've heard of other mayors and local officials in other cities get caught with their hands in the cookie jar, and it stinks all the way around.
Perhaps these cities themselves are also becoming "Sacred Cows." I've never actually lived in some of these larger cities back east, so it's hard for me to identify with those who have a certain sentimental attachment to "back home," whether it's Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, etc. People really love their cities, so there seems to an intangible sentimental factor that may exist beyond just economics or politics. Some of our cities are dying, yet there are still those who want to maintain the local charm, culture, history, traditions and keep their cities and neighborhoods as they've always remembered them.
I get that impression whenever I read stories of urban decline, since they're usually accompanied by stories of the "good old days" when their cities were a vibrant center of industry, business, culture, arts, sports. (Cities and their sports teams might be a separate topic altogether.)
As for jobs, they have to compete with other cities all over the country. Offer incentives for companies to move to their city. Some cities employ economic councils, advisors, and salesmen to go out and sell their city as an attractive place for a company to move to and bring high paying jobs. Cities have to make investments in education and infrastructure (which is difficult in cities where the local bureaucrats and politicians funnel a lot of that money into their own pockets).
Maybe they ought to impose stronger penalties on corrupt politicians and bureaucrats caught looting the public treasury. Some of this stuff really stinks. Even here locally, there's this project where $230 million ended up missing. The streets are falling apart, the city is strapped for cash, and many of the schools are underperforming (while there are administrators at the district office pulling in six-figure salaries).
Smaller league cities by numbers, major league cities by %
Major leaguers are typically union towns.
(It's fairly easy math once you run the numbers).
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RE: What causes urban poverty - 
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