So junk bonds and corporate raiders were innovators that made the national (and local?) economies stronger? I’d like to hear Glaeser’s rationalization of ARMs, sub-prime loans, and other such “innovations?” How have property flipping slumlords and predatory lenders helped the rustbelt’s struggling urban neighborhoods?

So trains, water transport, and hydroelectric power (which all conserve resources and the natural environment) remain outmoded technologies? Is Glaeser unaware we are leaving the age of cheap oil, and–contrary to his implications–proximity to hydropower generation is still important. For instance, Google (and its peers) have been planning sites for huge new server farms, and they settled on the Columbia River after looking at various sites, including Buffalo. (http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/02/16/1727215)

However, if this Cyburbia post is accurate, other of Glaser’s points are correct in explaining why Google didn’t choose Buffalo:

“Guess what [Google] found? Water is cheaper in the desert in Las Vegas and taxes are significantly lower and the location was easier to attract the educated work force necessary. Throw in the state’s unwillingness to help with a tax break to make a WNY competitive and they left. Thank the political system, Erie County Water Authority and unions for your water costs here, some of the highest in the nation despite being on the largest fresh water system in North America, if not the world.” (http://www.cyburbia.org/forums/showthread.php?t=33561&highlight=google)