The Thrift Party

Why the Tea Party needs to come to town to be relevant in the next election

As Tea Party members around the nation watch closely the congressmen and women they helped elect either stay true or stray from the slogans that got them there, some within the party are looking to the next election. No movement wants to be one and done and the Tea Party needs to be actively seeking ways to expand its relevance and make more universal its message. But how?

To be a meaningful part of the next election, the Tea Party will have to better articulate how a smaller federal government leads to resilient local communities.

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The Economy of Cities

Source: Stockphotopro.com

Edward Glaeser's brief, yet convincing article outlines the reasons for the successful transition of Seattle from a declining industrial economy: A white collar economy coupled with dense, smart growth. As I read the article however, I could not help but wonder where the wealth that was being generated in Seattle was actually ending up. And how many of these people benefitting from this success story actually live in Seattle. All the companies mentioned by Mr. Glaeser are multinationals with substantial overseas operations. He points out the misgivings of the large industrial monolith, but is the globally attenuated structure of the service economy really any better? Are these companies really bringing true value to the place they are "located" in or do they simply utilize the cheapest possible human capital to further their own personal goals?

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Triumph of the City

Updated on Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 9:03AM by Joe Nickol

The Daily Show - Edward Glaeser
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Edward Glaeser visits Jon Stewart to talk about his new book, Triumph of the City. Glaeser is an economist that has written extensively about the planning and benefits of towns and cities.

Read Glaeser's work at his Economix Blog

Buy his book in the bookstore.

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Cityness

Street Scene, PittsburghIn a recent post I published, I mentioned an emerging concept that the urban theorist Saskia Sassen is currently investigating: "Cityness". This is an intangible parameter, removed from population, density or wealth of urban areas. In fact, it is not even restricted to core urban areas (Many inner suburbs that are compact, walkable and linked by transit also exemplify "Cityness"). In my opinion, it simply seeks to define the virtues that seem to exist in human settlements that are tightly knit, sensitive to their surroundings and highly collaborative. 

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