Probably, since you can usually buy these 'homes' for a dollar on the auction block. I think a bigger cost would be liability insurance since these areas tend to be sue happy.

There were economic reasons why people left the cities over the past century. That is obvious. However, if you look at the leadership of a lot of these places it leaves much to be desired. It is unlikely that Camden or Buffalo or whatever will reach its old prominence, so why not get some mayors in there who are willing to work with what they have?

Instead the voters seem to put in folks who bring the same old same old and continue the downward spiral. Of course this could be a side effect of the more educated wealthier people leaving and the remaining residents being unable to think longterm.

From Camden, NJ's Wikipedia page:

Camden has historically been a stronghold of the Democratic Party.

As has Buffalo. There is no need for a minority leader on the city council because all 9 members hail from the Dem party.

No matter which organization it is, single party rule is ALWAYS a bad thing.

No matter which organization it is, single party rule is ALWAYS a bad thing

No matter which organization? Of the "ten worst cities," nine are run by Democrats, and the tenth, Charleston, WV has been run by a Republican mayor for the past five years after 32 years of rule by Democrats.

Now, I don't want to conflate correlation with causation, but don't you see a pattern emerging here?

You are correct. We obviously need to trust the GOP with control of the executive and legislative branches at every level. They do such a better job, as we saw during the first term of Bush '43.

Bush is not a mayor.

Only because he probably couldn't get elected dog catcher in most cities.

Illegitimi non carborundum.

I wish he was just a mayor. Then maybe our country wouldn't be as screwed up.

You seem to be blaming local governments for the off-shoring of American manufacturing jobs.  Perhaps you are assigning them more power than they actually have?

If your thesis,that local Democratic rule is responsible for the failure of these cities, then there ought to be other cities in the same circumstances (that is to say, dependent on failing industries for their economic base) who have Republican or mixed government and are succeeding.

It's the workers with their greedy selves not wanting to work for 35 cents an hour like their overseas brethren.

It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine

You seem to be blaming local governments for the off-shoring of American manufacturing jobs

I "seem" to be? Well, I'm not. State governments deserve some blame for that, but not city governments in general. (There are some specific cases where city governments are to blame for a decline in manufacturing, but I can't think of any in the cities we're discussing here.)

If your thesis,that local Democratic rule is responsible for the failure of these cities...

Please go back and reread my comments, james. I merely noted that Democratic leadership was attendant to economic decline in large US cities. Do you deny that fact? If not, do you have an explanation for that clear, indeed overwhelming, trend?

Have some guts.

Anyway, one explanation is that the voters of those cities realize that the Republican "devil take the hindmost" philosophy of economics won't help them when they are in dire straits, and therefore they elect Democrats.

...voters of those cities realize...

Those voters are obviously educated and wise.

...therefore they elect Democrats

After forty years with no signs of improvement I have to admit that I am awed by their faith. Not by their common sense, but certainly by their faith.

Are you blaming the city governments for the larger trends that are affecting the post-industrial America, or not?  Make up your mind.

Are you blaming the city governments for the larger trends that are affecting the post-industrial America, or not?

Refer to comment #27 where I wrote, "State governments deserve some blame for that, but not city governments in general."

Do I need to be more clear than that?

-After forty years with no signs of improvement

-Camden has historically been a stronghold of the Democratic Party.

-Now, I don't want to conflate correlation with causation, but don't you see a pattern emerging here?

-State governments deserve some blame for that, but not city governments in general.

-I merely noted that Democratic leadership was attendant to economic decline in large US cities.

Do I need to be more clear than that?

Nope...I'd say your position is very clear.  

It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine

Nope...I'd say your position is very clear

See, Jimmy? It's not hard to understand.

Oh, I understand your position perfectly.  You want to say something indefensible, and you don't want to try to defend it.  So you'll keep saying it over and over, while denying that you're saying it.

You want to say something indefensible, and you don't want to try to defend it

Why should I need to defend a simple fact? The worst cities in the US have governments run by the Democratic Party. Do you deny that?

Most major cities have a Democrat in charge--Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York (former Dem, former Rep, now indie), Houston...so I don't see your point.

It is easy to buy small plaster models of what you think life is like.

I think maybe his point is that when people are actually close enough to Republicans to see them (as in the case of municipal government), they find it very hard to vote for them.

Yeah, but Mayor Daley II here in Chicago doesn't really count.  City government (at least effective city government) is, of necessity, very business friendly.  Daley pays lip-service to progressive, populist concerns, but when the rubber hits the road, it's all about business.  Witness Daley's veto of a "big box" minimum wage law that would have effectively locked most big box stores out of Chicago.

...and despite repeating over and over that you mean nothing by the observation, you keep repeating it.

People in cities elect Democrats because they prefer its philosophy of government as public service to the Republican's philosophy of government as bribe-generator.

Bent out of shape? On the contrary; I am endlessly amused by it.

Levity, MAYOR. It's levity.

But a very insouciant levity, KEN.

Illegitimi non carborundum.

The premise that health care is the next bubble discounts all the customers about to come on line.  Sure, there might be some overrun in anticipation, but the solid revenue base is there.

I define a bubble market as any market where the average price consistently outpaces inflation, for an extended period of time.  Such trends cannot last, as incomes aren't increasing enough to allow people to afford whatever product is so bubblicious.  Health care is obviously such a bubble - it doesn't matter that the customer base is exploding, if they can't afford it.

I'm guessing quite the opposite.  With my 68, I have several restaurants, a grocery store (albeit an expensive natural version), a drug store, two gyms, and three gas stations/convenience stores, I have it pretty good.  You must have it better.  If you lived really far out in the boonies (a low score), you would have either a great distance to get to these amenities, or be bounded by pedestrian hostile roadways aka p0's shithole.

It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine

Dude, she wrote "8", not "80". :)

{Insert amusing quotation here}

yup.  It's an 8.  

We have very little nearby and a lousy public transit system.

80 would be like a real city with restaurants and shopping, and maybe even a police force.  ;)

"It was an ancient rule of Hawaiians that no one should hurt another bodily, or through theft of goods or through injury to feelings.These were the only sins."

um, yeah...I knew that.  Pretty funny joke, eh?

It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine

My parents score a 0 out of 100.  Not kidding.  They win.

Someday you'll just have to get them brought back from Devil's Island.

Illegitimi non carborundum.

Wow.  Where do they live?

"It was an ancient rule of Hawaiians that no one should hurt another bodily, or through theft of goods or through injury to feelings.These were the only sins."

Central Pennsylvania...about as far away from anything as you can get in central PA.  It's not quite as bad as it seems...since they're equally far from everything, they're also equally close to quite a few larger towns.  They're about a 20 minute drive from 3 different relatively decent size (10,000 plus people) urban areas with plenty of shopping, cultural opportunities, etc.   There's absolutely no retail at all within walking distance, though.  There are a few things you might bike to, if you can handle the hills.  The post office is the closest, and it's about 3 miles away.  There's a small town with a pizza shop and a hardware store that's about 4.5 miles away.  That's about it.

Interesting.

We're about 2 miles from a pizza place that sucks, a hardware store and a post office that has no available PO Boxes.

There is an overpriced gas station and a gift shop that put in PO Boxes to handle the overflow, and a liquor store that has a few very overpriced groceries that generally rot because nobody buys them except people who are desperate.

A small grocery store opened in the last 6 months, which has helped out some, but for most of us buying groceries means a 2 hour drive to the bigger towns where Costco, Safeway, and Hellmart are.

There is a bus that comes through our town at 6 AM going to the Kona, it returns at 5 PM.  If you miss it, you can hitchhike.

I'm assuming the little grocery store is what pushed us up to 8 instead of 0.

"It was an ancient rule of Hawaiians that no one should hurt another bodily, or through theft of goods or through injury to feelings.These were the only sins."