there goes the neighborhood

The End of White Flight - WSJ.com -- Interesting article, as the WSJ heralds the end of white flight; now that they've said it, folks, it must be so. It points out the factors shifting the balance to some degree--declining minority birth rate, hip senior empty nesters, young professionals. It doesn't talk much about tax abatement, and that is probably because tax abatement was never needed in the first place.

All you have to do is have a place that is--

1. Safe
2. Clean
3. Economically sensible and attractive

--and people will move in. You don't have to bribe them by giving them financial incentives that the existing residents don't have.

Maybe we can start a PILOT program (Payments In Lieu Of Taxes) for all the newly minted Clevelanders who have joined us the past decade; we need to buy more trees and landscaping.

And let's not forget to spend more on police and fire, while we're at it, until we reach equilibrium, much like that one experiences in a small town. That's what a neighborhood is, after all: a small town in extremely close proximity to other small towns.

There goes the neighborhood. Here comes the neighborhood.