St. Louis is not Detroit

Rick Edlund of the Show-Me Institute has a terrific piece in the Post-Dispatch today explaining why he thinks St. Louis will not become the next Detroit.  It is a nice contrast with Paul Krugman's breathtakingly dumb claim that Detroit's problems are largely due to outside forces.  St. Louis has faced those same outside forces and has suffered a great deal over the years.  But, despite its problems, it has been governed much better, especially under the current mayor.  That's not to say that St. Louis has been particularly well-governed most of the time, but it has certainly been able to stay afloat and provide basic services.  In fact, many parts of the city are flourishing.