Articles - Joel Kotkin

Decentralize Government to Resolve Country’s Divisions

February 14, 2017/in Demographics, Politics, The Economy

America is increasingly a nation haunted by fears of looming dictatorship. Whether under President Barack Obama’s “pen and phone” rule, or…Read more

The High Cost of a Home Is Turning American Millennials Into the New Serfs

February 6, 2017/in The Economy, Urban Affairs

Appearing in: The Daily Beast American greatness was long premised on the common assumption was that each generation would do better than previous one. That is being undermined for the […]

Death Spiral Demographics: The Countries Shrinking the Fastest

February 2, 2017/in Demographics

Appearing in: Forbes For most of recent history, the world has worried about the curse of overpopulation. But in many countries, the problem may soon be too few people, and […]

The Immigration Dilemma

January 31, 2017/in Politics

Appearing in: The Orange County Register In often needlessly harsh ways, President Donald Trump is forcing Americans to face issues that have been festering for decades, but effectively swept under […]

Kevin Starr, Chronicler of the California Dream

January 27, 2017/in California

Appearing in: The Orange County Register
In a way now rare and almost archaic, Kevin Starr, who died last week at age 76, believed in the possibilities of California…

Loyal Opposition Versus Resistance to Trump

January 20, 2017/in Politics

Appearing in: The Orange County Register
Perhaps nothing has made modern progressivism look sillier than the often hysterical reaction to the election of Donald Trump.

California as Alt-America

January 17, 2017/in California

Appearing in: Real Clear Politics
In 1949 the historian Carey McWilliams defined California as the “the Great Exception” — a place so different from the rest of America as to seem almost a separate country.

The Irony That Could Trip Up Trump’s Quest To Make The U.S. Economy ‘Great Again’

January 16, 2017/in Politics

Appearing in: Forbes
Perhaps no president in recent history has more pressure on him to perform economic miracles than Donald Trump.

California’s Racial Politics Harming Minorities

January 6, 2017/in California, Politics

Appearing in: Orange County Register

Across the country, white voters placed Donald Trump in office by a margin of 21 points over Clinton. Their backing helped the GOP gain control of a vast swath of local offices nationwide.