Economics: Rutten: The End of American Optimism

From an article Dave S. contributed ...

Columnist and critic Fintan O'Toole, a recent visitor to the United States, wrote of being struck by the breadth and depth of the damage the recession has done to the most vital engine of the nation's economy — its great urban areas. "On their own, big U.S. cities make up some of the world's largest economies. If they were countries, New York would rank 13th in the world, Los Angeles 18th and Chicago 21st. Even Washington, D.C., has an economy larger than Norway's, Austria's or South Africa's. Ireland's GDP is about the same as that of Minneapolis or Detroit."

... the decade just past was even worse for real private sector income growth than the 10 years following the onset of the Depression in 1929.

For more, see Rutten: The End of American Optimism by Tim Rutten, July 6, 2011 at Los Angeles Times.