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Not only are there more biggish cities and big-city-ish places for a company to choose from—smaller cities are more like big cities than they used to be. “A lot of what I call the amenity structures that used to exist only in one or two U.S. cities now exist in ten or twelve—not in the same depth as a New York or Chicago, maybe, but sufficient,” says trend guru Joel Kotkin. “Let’s say I’m a Columbia University-trained MBA. Thirty years ago, if I landed in Dallas or Houston or St. Louis or Atlanta, I’d say, ‘Gee, I’m in the sticks.’ Now …”

Joel on TCB Review

Further out, the future seems brighter. As Joel Kotkin writes, this could be yet another American century. We’re still an entrepreneurial hotbed, our energy resources are plentiful, most of our rivals will be in decline by 2030, we retain the edge in military hardware, we’re an agricultural superpower, and we’re unparalleled in our ability to absorb different races, religions and cultures, “an increasingly critical factor in maintaining global pre-eminence.

Joel on McClatchy DC

The loss of Dodd is no loss. He was tainted by Wall Street slavishness and represented the very gentry liberalism that threatens the future and credibility of the Democrats. If we are to be ruled by Wall Street, why not support a party that doesn’t mind if the rest of us try to get rich? Dorgan is another story. He has been a legitimate, if sometimes crusty, populist. He is just not another pampered society socialist like Dodd. He spoke for the Heartland and the middle class in tones that recall some of the great true progressives. He will be missed.

Joel on WSJ

It takes one back to Paris and that question, and maybe it was this way for more than a decade, or so argues Michael Lind in a discussion of what was called the New Economy in the nineties.

Michael on Just Above Sunset

The recession may have slowed the pace of net migration, but the essential pattern has remained in place. People continue to leave places like New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles for more affordable, economically viable regions like Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio. Overall, the big winners in net migration have been predominately conservative states like Texas–with over 800,000 net new migrants–notes demographer Wendell Cox. In what Cox calls “the decade of the South,” 90% of all net migration went to southern states.

Joel on Brothers Judd Blog

The Clintonites were wrong. The “new economy” was an illusion. Neoliberals have to admit that before they can stop the bleeding.

Michael on Which Way California?

If you read them carefully, you’ll notice that their visions aren’t entirely incompatible. Kotkin focuses on America’s enduring economic strengths: Our demographic balance (which compares favorably to Europe and Asia alike), our still-vast natural resources, our entrepreneurial culture, our ability to assimilate immigrants, and so on. Deneen emphasizes the weakening of our liberal political order, with its threefold emphasis on liberty, equality and prosperity.

Joel in the NY Times

The same goes for Joel Kotkin as regards his home state of California. Kotkin, who is a fellow at Chapman University and executive editor of NewGeography.com, was quoted in the article comparing high-tax California to low-tax Texas. A couple of decades ago, he said, services in Texas were noticeably inferior to services in the California. “Today, you go to Texas, the roads are no worse, the public schools are not great but are better than or equal to ours, and their universities are good,” he was quoted as saying.

Joel on NJ.com