Burnt Orange Report


News, Politics, and Fun From Deep in the Heart of Texas







Support the TDP!





May 23, 2005

A Shoutout from The Commanding Heights

By Jim Dallas

This summer I have started my first downtown (OK, not downtown, but right-next-to-downtown) job and so I tend to get almost misty about the amazing potential of Houston and, more abstractly, the "modern American city" etc. etc. Cue Petula Clark.

In The New Republic (registration required), Joel Kotkin says its time to ditch romanticism and bring back realism:

Cities are not doomed, far from it; this is one point on which Richard Florida and I agree. But two major things need to happen in order for cities to be saved. First, they must undertake a CAT scan of sorts, which would reveal, underneath the glossy exterior of arts centers and arenas and hip downtowns, the reality of lost jobs, dysfunctional schools, and crumbling infrastructure. Second, they need to acquire the political will to attack these issues head-on despite the inevitable roadblocks.

What is needed is for cities to craft their own New Deal. Given their shrinking political power, they will not be able to extract resources from Washington or most state capitals. They will have to get smart about how they are run and focus their resources on basic issues, like schools, infrastructure, boosting small business, and creating jobs--rather than promoting bread, circuses, and tattoo parlors.

This will mean making choices. New York needs to decide that fixing its subways represents a more important use of its bonding authority than a stadium for the Jets. Los Angeles needs to decide its biggest priority lies in preventing the region's port complex, its largest generator of private sector jobs, from becoming hopelessly congested and obsolescent. Cleveland, Detroit, Philadelphia, and the other hard luck cases need to focus on trying to fix their schools, transportation systems, and economies. Phoenix needs to concern itself with generating jobs and opportunities for its soaring immigrant population. Let the glitzy restaurants and rock clubs take care of themselves.

Steps like these will require a new political consensus. Much of the current progressive agenda--with its anti-growth economic bias--does little to boost the competitive status of urban centers. Cities must return to a progressive focus on fixing their real problems--that is, the problems of the majority of the people who live there--not serving the interests of artists, hipsters, and their wealthy patrons. Right now school reform is often hostage to the power of teachers' unions. City budgets, which could be applied to improving economic infrastructure, are frequently bloated by, among other things, excessive public sector employment and overgenerous pensions. In the contest for the remaining public funds, the knitted interests of downtown property holders, arts foundations, sports promoters, and nightclub owners often overwhelm those of more conventional small businesses and family-oriented neighborhoods that could serve as havens for the middle class.

Personally, I think Kotkin needs to put less blame on unions, public employees, and hipsters, and more blame on the race-to-the-bottom dynamic in municipal politics. Cities are often very hesitant to raise taxes (or raise future taxes, by issuing bonds) out of fear that it will send jobs elsewhere. The exception to this rule is when the city thinks it has something special - e.g. professional sports or culture - that it simply cannot afford to lose.

The reason why many companies are moving to the suburbs and exurbs is because they have fund municipal politics there to be more flexible to their interests. Lurking beneath the surface of all of this, I am afraid, is the bigger issue of corporate power.

Posted by Jim Dallas at May 23, 2005 07:51 AM | TrackBack

Comments

They are afraid that business will leave if they raise taxes because business WILL leave if they raise taxes. That's not corporate greed. That's good business sense.

Posted by: Drew at May 23, 2005 10:33 AM

Good posting and excellent liner notes by the Big Jim D. Out here in LaLa Land a big progressive electoral victory for Antonio Villaraigosa last week and some of us now are asking the question from the last line of "The Candidate"--"what do we do now?" But Antonio and his topsiders have been preparing for this for some time. If anyone can figure it out they (and we) will be able to.

The last comment alluded to higher taxes. Here in Los Angeles the progressive city council greatly simplified and reduced taxes on small businesses which are largely started and run
by hungry hard working immigrants as well as creative types like tv and screen writers that
I represent as a labor lawyer.

There are still ways to be compassionate and tight fisted with the tax dollar at the same time. The key is finding the right balance and the necessary common trust, participation and consensus to offset corporate overreaching.

Also keep in mind that a large city does not have to choose all of one thing over another. Just leave "room enough to caper" as Billy Lee Brammer once wrote.

Posted by: Tom Coleman at May 23, 2005 12:49 PM

Kotkin throw out a number of statements that he expects us to accept as true. Unfortunately, the statements do not hold up under scrutiny.

Who is promoting "the current progressive agenda--with its anti-growth economic bias"? Here, Kotkin is setting up a strawman. If anything, the "current progressive" agenda is linked with New Urbanism which certainly isn't anti-growth. The only anti-growth folks still around are holdovers from the 60s and various, disparite groups of NIMBYs.

How is it that the political power of cities is shrinking? If anything, the imporatance of urban areas in our economy is increasing. The urban areas are not, however, usually bastions of Republican support. While that may mean that the cities, at the moment, have less clout in D.C., it doesn't mean that their power is shrinking on the state level. Certainly, in Texas, the urban and suburban counties are on the rise, while the rural counties are in decline.

The Austin City Council runoff election does, however, provide an interesting contest between a candidate dedicated to promoting economic development and opportunity, particularly for small businesses, and a candidate who is styling herself as an advocate for anti-growth groups.

Posted by: Jeb at May 23, 2005 02:02 PM

Professional sports is something special? Please.

Posted by: Michael Hoffman at May 23, 2005 02:04 PM
Post a comment









Remember personal info?








June 2005
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
      1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30    


About Us
About/Contact
Advertising Policies

Donate

Tip Jar!



Archives
Recent Entries
Categories
BOR Edu.
University of Texas
University Democrats

BOR News
The Daily Texan
The Statesman
The Chronicle

BOR Politics
DNC
DNC Blog: Kicking Ass
DSCC
DSCC Blog: From the Roots
DCCC
DCCC Blog: The Stakeholder
Texas Dems
Travis County Dems

U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett
State Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos
State Rep. Dawnna Dukes
State Rep. Elliott Naishtat
State Rep. Eddie Rodriguez
State Rep. Mark Strama
Linked to BOR!
Alexa Rating
Truth Laid Bear Ecosystem
Technoranti Link Cosmos
Blogstreet Blogback
Polling
American Research Group
Annenberg Election Survey
Gallup
Polling Report
Rasmussen Reports
Survey USA
Zogby
Texas Stuff
A Little Pollyana
Austin Bloggers
DFW Bogs
DMN Blog
In the Pink Texas
Inside the Texas Capitol
The Lasso
Pol State TX Archives
Quorum Report Daily Buzz
George Strong Political Analysis
Texas Law Blog
Texas Monthly
Texas Observer
TX Dem Blogs
100 Monkeys Typing
Alandwilliams.com
Alt 7
Annatopia
Appalachia Alumni Association
Barefoot and Naked
BAN News
Betamax Guillotine
Blue Texas
Border Ass News
The Daily DeLay
The Daily Texican
Dos Centavos
Drive Democracy Easter Lemming
Esoterically
Get Donkey
Greg's Opinion
Half the Sins of Mankind
Jim Hightower
Houtopia
Hugo Zoom
Latinos for Texas
Off the Kuff
Ones and Zeros
Panhandle Truth Squad
Aaron Peña's Blog
People's Republic of Seabrook
Pink Dome
The Red State
Rhetoric & Rhythm
Rio Grande Valley Politics
Save Texas Reps
Skeptical Notion
Something's Got to Break
Southpaw
Stout Dem Blog
The Scarlet Left
Tex Prodigy
ToT
View From the Left
Yellow Doggeral Democrat
TX GOP Blogs
Beldar Blog
Blogs of War
Boots and Sabers
Dallas Arena
Jessica's Well
Lone Star Times
Publius TX
Safety for Dummies
The Sake of Arguement
Slightly Rough
Daily Reads
&c.
ABC's The Note
Atrios
BOP News
Daily Kos
Media Matters
MyDD
NBC's First Read
Political State Report
Political Animal
Political Wire
Talking Points Memo
CBS Washington Wrap
Wonkette
Matthew Yglesias
College Blogs
CDA Blog
Get More Ass (Brown)
Dem Apples (Harvard)
KU Dems
U-Delaware Dems
UNO Dems
Stanford Dems
GLBT Blogs
American Blog
BlogActive
Boi From Troy
Margaret Cho
Downtown Lad
Gay Patriot
Raw Story
Stonewall Dems
Andrew Sullivan
More Reads
Living Indefinitely
Blogroll Burnt Orange!
BOR Webrings
< ? Texas Blogs # >
<< ? austinbloggers # >>
« ? MT blog # »
« ? MT # »
« ? Verbosity # »
Election Returns
CNN 1998 Returns
CNN 2000 Returns
CNN 2002 Returns
CNN 2004 Returns

state elections 1992-2005

bexar county elections
collin county elections
dallas county elections
denton county elections
el paso county elections
fort bend county elections
galveston county elections
harris county elections
jefferson county elections
tarrant county elections
travis county elections


Texas Media
abilene
abilene reporter news

alpine
alpine avalanche

amarillo
amarillo globe news

austin
austin american statesman
austin chronicle
daily texan online
keye news (cbs)
kut (npr)
kvue news (abc)
kxan news (nbc)
news 8 austin

beaumont
beaumont enterprise

brownsville
brownsville herald

college station
the battalion (texas a&m)

corpus christi
corpus christi caller times
kris news (fox)
kztv news (cbs)

crawford
crawford lone star iconoclast

dallas-fort worth
dallas morning news
dallas observer
dallas voice
fort worth star-telegram
kdfw news (fox)
kera (npr)
ktvt news (cbs)
nbc5 news
wfaa news (abc)

del rio
del rio news herald

el paso
el paso times
kdbc news (cbs)
kfox news (fox)
ktsm (nbc)
kvia news (abc)

galveston
galveston county daily news

harlingen
valley morning star

houston
houston chronicle
houston press
khou news (cbs)
kprc news (nbc)
ktrk news (abc)

laredo
laredo morning times

lockhart
lockhart post-register

lubbock
lubbock avalanche journal

lufkin
lufkin daily news

marshall
marshall news messenger

mcallen
the monitor

midland - odessa
midland reporter telegram
odessa american

san antonio
san antonio express-news

seguin
seguin gazette-enterprise

texarkana
texarkana gazette

tyler
tyler morning telegraph

victoria
victoria advocate

waco
kxxv news (abc)
kwtx news (cbs)
waco tribune-herald

weslaco
krgv news (nbc)

statewide
texas cable news
texas triangle


World News
ABC News
All Africa News
Arab News
Atlanta Constitution-Journal
News.com Australia
BBC News
Bloomberg
Boston Globe
CBS News
Chicago Tribune
Christian Science Monitor
CNN
Denver Post
FOX News
Google News
The Guardian
Inside China Today
International Herald Tribune
Japan Times
LA Times
Mexico Daily
Miami Herald
MSNBC
New Orleans Times-Picayune
New York Times
El Pais (Spanish)
Salon
San Francisco Chronicle
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Slate
Times of India
Toronto Star
Wall Street Journal
Washington Post



Powered by
Movable Type 3.15