American Cities are Crumbling

A Trip to Logan West Virginia

Today I am off to a small town called Logan, WV. Logan currently has a population around 1300, which is a long way from its peak at 5000. Is this city an example of what the rest of America could look like if well paying working class jobs continue to disappear?

I believe it is time for us, as Americans, to let go of some of the luxuries we have gotten used to. The luxuries I am talking about are not like opting for leather seats in your new car. Instead I am talking about things like laws governing small businesses like street vendors. In the past we have been able to get away with banning these sorts of things from our streets because there have been enough good paying working class jobs to go around, but for the last 40 years these jobs have been in decline. There is also the crisis I mentioned with those on a fixed income.

We are going to need every possible tool at our disposal in order to get through what is coming. If there are no jobs, then we are going to have to get out of the way so that people can do what they can to take care of their living costs.

It may be wise to start rethinking universal basic income as well. I am not opposed to a small monthly payout to give American's finances a little boost. It shouldn't be enough that anyone can live on it, but a little extra each month would go a long way in helping some of our society survive. It should also not be tied to any prerequisites.

I don't pretend to know how to make things work, but I do think it is time to start coming up with some solutions, and getting government regulations out of the way of small businesses and working class people.