Camden: Today's Problems Decades In Making

Kevin Riordan's recent column in the Philadelphia Inquirer is somewhat critical of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie but that's [almost] okay since Riordan also illuminates Camden's troubled history and some of the real reasons for its decline. And Kevin should know since he's done a great job of covering Camden, its people and its problems for decades. Here's part of what he says:

It seems the private sector will put money into Camden only if that investment is subsidized by the rest of us.
Even the biggest companies, whose bottom lines were enriched by the sweat of city residents for generations, want special assistance. They simply have to have loans or grants or PILOTs (payments in lieu of taxes).
It's acceptable to expect, even demand, a basket of public goodies (known as "incentives") before moving to Camden. Or not moving out.
Meanwhile, ordinary people have left by the thousands. From a peak of 125,000 in 1950, Camden's population had fallen nearly a third by 1990.
By that point the city had, for all practical purposes, been insolvent for 20 years.

Click here to read the entire column.