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The Lifeblood of America

April 15, 2020 in , , /by

by Aaron M. Renn — Shutdowns mandated by the coronavirus are a pending apocalypse for small businesses, which employ 48 percent of American workers. Businesses that either can’t reopen or are suffering a big drop in revenue will soon be insolvent. Some have already announced that they will be shutting down.

Midwest Success Stories

December 6, 2019 in , , , /by

by Aaron M. Renn — My latest report has just been released by the Manhattan Institute. It’s called, “Midwest Success Stories: These 10 Cities Are Blooming, Not Rusting.” It’s a look at 10 cities in nine states in the greater Midwest that are doing well economically and demographically.

Local Empowerment Should Be About Local Matters

October 11, 2017 in , , /by

I’ve generally been someone who wants to see local governments have more power and flexibility to meet local needs. My rationale is simple. States are full of diverse communities that are a bad fit for one size fits all policies. Chicago, Danville, Peoria, Cairo, etc. are radically different places. They have different circumstances, needs, and […]

The Real State of America’s Inner Cities

January 30, 2017 in /by

The New York Times ran a piece in today’s paper about the state of America’s inner cities – and of course Donald Trump. Their conclusion is that the landscape of America’s cities, and of American blacks – the “inner city” is clearly a racially loaded term – is complex. I agree with that. I’ve classified […]