[nostrademons]

Yup. The "two economies; two moneys" divide between urban coastal America & the Rust Belt / Deep South is probably one of the greatest silent threats to American security. Historically nation-states do not survive divides in regional inequality that are this big or this entrenched; the temptation grows for the rich region to secede and engage more with the global economy, while the resentment from the poor region builds and can lead to outright violence. And America's biggest defensive weapon, historically, has been two oceans: this doesn't apply when the potential enemies share a continent.

[johnvanatta]

And the modern side will also be the losing side if violence breaks out. The urban prosperity machine requires trade and highly specialized work, which is vulnerable to political turmoil. Whereas the guns and food are overwhelmingly in the rural parts of the country.

I don't think it's all doom and gloom though. There are some promising signs that cities don't have to be coastal to embrace the new model and prosper. Austin, Pittsburgh, Denver; to name a few.

And even though the Trump administration is doing damage, it could also act as an inoculation. Their complete lack of competence is a limiting reagent. And in response, a lot of people who took benign, stable political institutions for granted (their relative rarity could easily be missed from a typical education) no longer do.

[anongraddebt]

Happening in other developed countries as well. Mega-cities and urban coastal corridors are globalizing faster than the nation-states to which they are legally subsumed under. Cities are beginning to test the boundaries of their prescribed sovereignty in trade and other matters.

[johnvanatta]

London and Brexit immediately come to mind!