doom loop

The Doom Loop in American Cities: A Universal Dynamic

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The Doom Loop in American Cities: A Democrat DynamicCharles Hugh Smith – A correspondent who prefers to remain anonymous sent me this account of the “doom loop” that is playing out in many American cities. The correspondent makes the case that the Doom Loop is not limited to specific cities, but is a universal dynamic in all US cities due to the core causes of the Doom Loop: financialization and the multi-decade decay of cities’ core industrial-economic purpose / mission.

I have edited the text slightly, with the correspondent’s approval. Continue reading →

Doom Loops Are Multiplying

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Doom Loops Are MultiplyingCharles Hugh Smith – Doom Loops have been in the lexicon a long time. The basic idea is the decline of one of the inputs holding up the status quo weakens the other inputs. This weakness feeds back on itself, accelerating the decline until a critical support level breaks and the system collapses.

Doom Loops are being used to describe big-city downtowns gutted by remote work, the closure of small businesses and the rise of property crime and chronic homelessness. Once the workforce commuting to downtown fell sharply, the businesses catering to this workforce no longer had a customer base large enough to support them all and so many close. Continue reading →