How Empires Fall
All empires have a capital city, and development either flows into or out of the capital. The United States is rare in the fact that the capital city is nowhere near the largest or most productive city in the country. If one looks at the Old World, one would find that in most countries, the capital city is also the largest city. These cities evolved more naturally than the cities in America did and were the seats of Kings whose very presence spurred commerce. Or perhaps it was the other way around, and the Kings followed the trade. In any case, in countries like those, the capital city is the center of the country.
In Russia, this is taken to a whole other level. Moscow is huge compared to other Russian cities, like placing New York in the middle of Iowa.
In a country that is concerned for the well-being of all of its citizens, the wealth will flow out of the capital. More taxes will be paid in the large cities, and much of this wealth will be dispersed out to more rural areas. This is immediately visible by taking a drive in the country and seeing if the roads are well paved and the village schools are well maintained. In America, the liberal-leaning blue counties pay far more federal taxes than the red-conservative rural counties. However, the rural counties consume more tax dollars per capita. That’s fine and makes sense. Rural areas require more infrastructure per person — how many people walk down Broadway in NYC daily versus how many walk down “Main Street USA” in “flyover country”
0 Comments