Not all of these programs were complete successes, but they pointed to the seriousness with which cities and urban constituencies were taken in the political process and by national political leaders. Al Gore promotes new job training programs to residents of Silicon Valley. Photo by James B. Goodno. In the 1980s and 1990s, major changes occurred as the nation's political center shifted to the right and to the suburbs. Today, we're beginning to see some changes in the political landscape.
Cities still receive short shrift in our political discourse.
Photo by James B. Goodno. By most measures, our economy has rarely done better than it is performing now. For nine years, economic output has been growing steadily. For close to five years, it's been growing at a surprisingly rapid pace. Unemployment is bottoming out, and homeownership is higher than ever.