The Economic and Political Migration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Economic and Political Migration - Essay Example The shift to the west was promoted by the federal government's massive wartime defense spending that centered in the western states and most notably California. In addition there were tax breaks for the oil industry as well as the social security program that helped sustain the area's growth. Perry and Watkins contend that once the western cities gained the advantage of defense spending, they were able to capitalize on that advantage by the theory of "cumulative causation" (Walton 409). Perry and Watkins further argue that the sunbelt cities that prospered from this advantage also erected artificial developmental barriers in a shift away from the New Deal liberalism, and this perpetuated the process. (Walton 409). As the rustbelt declined, it was unable to attract new economic activity in the changing face of technology. William Julius Wilson puts forth a more contemporary theory. Wilson states that the cities of the Northeast declined due to "economic transformation" (8). He describes this as a shift in metropolitan development strategy that was driven by the change in industry from production based to capital and technology based (8-9). More modern machines were replacing the methods popularized by Henry Ford. International competition further eroded the cities and diminished the value of physical capital.