A huge part of why I decided to leave California was because I lost faith in the municipal and state government and didn't feel like funding them anymore. As a high-earning non-citizen, I "vote" with my feet and my taxes.
I guess the point is that you can still pretend it doesn't have to do with you until it's really staring you in the face... and also by my same argument all Americans are also funding US neocolonialism and war etc. by contributing our productivity to the nation. At any rate, I want to emphasize again I'm not saying anyone choosing to stay in Chicago is somehow making an ethically questionable decision, just wanted to bring up this line of thinking for consideration.
If everyone that disagrees with a government leaves, it almost ensures that government will stay the same. The only voters left are the ones who don't have a problem with the current administration.
Or, why don't you give me a counterexample of someone who "can't afford to leave". A news story would be acceptable.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-african...
Moving costs money. Are you suggesting they simply leave everything behind and walk to a new city?
While we're talking about sources, how about a source for your claim that 99.9% of Americans can afford to move to a neighboring state.
Moving to the South is not a lower-class Chicago specific thing, in fact wealthy Jews are moving from New York to Florida. Are they refugees too?
However I consider your claim that 99.9% of Americans can afford to move to a neighboring state highly suspect. I am awaiting a source for that, even a news article.
Your flat out wrong. If enough taxpayers leave, then government will not have the money to continue spending and stay the same
The Soviet Union essentially fell apart because it ran out of money. If it had unlimited taxpayer funds, it would still be around
Every single person that I work with that complains about taxes and money lives in the suburbs. It's no wonder, of course. Property taxes in many Chicago suburbs are double or even triple than those inside the actual city of Chicago. Many of these people once lived in Chicago, but had kids and then left for a house with a yard in some suburb with good schools and high taxes. "It's cheaper than private school" is how they justify it. They buy a second car and drive it to the train station, paying a monthly parking fee in addition to their monthly train ticket.
I ride a bicycle to and from work, except when it is too wet or slippery to be safe. I take the bus when that happens. I get home from work and am spending time with my family before the commuter train leaves the station with my suburban colleagues on board. Within a 20 minute walk, we have 5 different parks to choose from. We have some of the best museums and cultural attractions in the world available to us. These places offer free workshops and learning events for children and are required by law to offer a minimum number of days per year of free admission for local residents.
I live in a high-rise building filled with a wide variety of people of all different skin tones. Immigrants from Europe, Asia, Latin America and even Africa. Same sex couples. Interracial couples. Muslims, Catholics and Evangelicals. This has been what my children know as normal and have for their entire lives.
Perhaps you may want to consider that leaving a place like Chicago is the ethically questionable decision, especially if you are concerned about the thought processes, viewpoints, and experiences that are required to make neocolonialism and war seem like good ideas.
SOMEONE has to live in the suburbs
I live in Oak Park, just across Austin, because when we moved here we were concerned about the schools in the neighborhood we wanted (Lincoln Square). We had no trouble finding houses to look at, though! (I sort of regret the decision we made, though I like where we live now.)
In fact, even in the most desirable neighborhoods in the city, it's straightforward to find housing in Chicago. People do not move to the suburbs because there's no room in Chicago. There are cities that have that problem. And Chicago has a lot of problems! But it does not have that problem.