Toward an urban conservatism

Make Minneapolis Great Again. I’ve used this picture of Minneapolis in several posts over the past few months. What is amazing about this view of downtown is how little it has changed in the past thirty years.

The city no longer enjoys the dynamism that was once its hallmark. But the steps needed to bring it back are not complicated. The formula for making a city thrive has been developed over millennia.

The idea is not new; our founder, Mitch Pearlstein, posted this piece on Urban Conservatism after the November 2018 elections. Mitch refers back to a January 2008 symposium conducted by the Center on “What Does It Mean To Be an Urban Conservative?“

To restart the conversation, here is my own modest contribution. First things first: make the streets safe to walk.

Go after carjackers, muggers, etc. Put people in jail who commit violent crimes and keep them there. Once we get the public safety situation under control, then we can work on the next two areas needing the most attention: commerce and education.

I refer you back to a formula I wrote years ago on this subject, 

“We will make it easier for you to start and run your own business”  
“We will help get your child out of a failing school”  
“We will make sure your tax money is not wasted” 
“You will get to keep more of what you earn” 
“We will help those who need it most”  

Each of those items reads like a common-sense platitude. But each is deeply offensive to the progressives who dominate city government. This series will develop these ideas further.

Stay tuned.