> What i really want to know is what Detroit, Milwaukee, Baltimore, and Philadelphia did to run everyone over that ten-year space.
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> P.S. OK, so Detroit was probably due to auto plant closings, but that doesn't explain the others.


The U.S. has been moving away from being a manufacturing economy since at least the mid-70's. Heavy industry like iron, steel, coal, etc. has especially been increasingly sourced "offshore" (i.e. overseas), so U.S. geographical regions traditionaly associated with those industries (read: Northeast) have suffered economic distress as plant after plant closed. People go where the jobs are. Guess where the jobs are? The sunbelt, where, even if you can't find a job, at least you probably won't freeze to death.

koala"...and I'm living here in Allentown, where they've taken all the coal from the ground..."mom