People are right. Government programs did undermine downtown. For example, all those government-built, limited-access roads that made it so much EASIER to get to suburban malls than to downtown stores.
Then there was the slow starvation of public transit, the one conveyance that DID feed downtown retail. And then all those BILLIONS of dollars fed to oil-producing regions to seduce or intimidate countries to provide us with oil at attractive prices. THAT is what induced shoppers to jump in their cars and drive 10, 15, 20 miles to a discount store rather than drive or bus downtown. There's no doubt about it. Without all this government "interference", the process of replacing downtown shopping with shopping in the suburbs never could have happened. I hope the retail chains appreciate the extent to which their success is a product of government choosing winners and losers in the retail competition. ===== ===== Jim Mork----Cooper Neighborhood "Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God"--Matthew 5:9 United for Peace http://www.unitedforpeace.org/new/ __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
