Planning the Next Great Migration

According to a survey conducted by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System [2019, before the pandemic], 39% of Americans do not have enough savings to pay for an unexpected $400 expense without hardship, such as having to borrow money or failing to pay regular bills. The implication is that most Americans do not have the savings needed to move safely from one formal, legal housing situation into another, unless a new employer agrees to cover the costs. It costs far more than $400 to do that, especially long-distance, especially with a family.

To further my desire to both acknowledge and dispute Eliza Daley’s recent essay on ruralization (mentioned in a previous post), I want to wrap up my thoughts about the unsustainability of our society and economy. If you keep reading you will see me argue repeatedly that giant cities should be avoided, or possibly departed if you already live there, in favor of smaller cities. Partly this is because their citizens are often gerrymandered out of political influence, but partly it is because I think big cities are inherently problematic. Here I’m skipping ahead a bit to explain why I think so.