Relocation vs. Rebuilding?
In his latest column, Mark Alan Hughes states that “[o]lder American cities have become warehouses for people whose prospects would be brighter in other places. But immediate obligations, lack of resources and information, and plain old inertia anchor people in places that are declining.” And further, “the eventual happy ending for poor people comes from relocation more than rebuilding.” A couple of questions: is there empirical evidence to support this last statement? That is, is relocation more effective than rebuilding with respect to poverty eradication? Notwithstanding, should voluntary relocation be a component of poverty abatement policy? Americans of means frequently relocate for better employment opportunities and lower cost of living; should there be policies (and commensurate funding and support) for those of limited means to do the same?
1 comment:
one question regarding relocation is whether you're talking about intra-state vs inter-state moves? A corollary question is at what point in the process does the person get help moving? For example, if PA dollars are spent on education and job training you would hope the person would stay in PA and become part of the tax base.
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