For some time I have been tracking the financial decline of Harrisburg, PA. Several articles have appeared in the WSJ. The most recent was published today:
Nolan, Kelly, 2010. Harrisburg asks state for relief. The Wall Street Journal, Oct. 2.
Probably without financial help, the city will not be able to pay its bills.
This is a disturbing quote from the article:
"Political sparring has complicated matters for the city, where nearly one-third of the 47,000 residents live below the poverty level. This week, the city's 577 workers nearly missed receiving their paychecks because of a standoff between the mayor and the elected city controller, Dan Miller."
Harrisburg is the state capital of Pennsylvania. It has to be embarrassing for the city to have such severe financial difficulties.
Unfortunately, this type of situation will play out in many other cities in the Midwest and elsewhere. The damage is certainly long-term. This hurts economic capability for the region and its people.
For those who do not believe city finances and decline are serious issues, I cite the example of Elyria, Ohio. The county seat, Elyria was a thriving manufacturing center prior to the Great Depression. Several industrialists made Elyria the worldwide center for bicycle seat production as well as early automobile manufacturing. I believe Elyria had one of the highest per capita incomes in the US during the 1920's. Then the Great Depression wiped everything out.
To this day, the city has never recovered prosperity.
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