Colorado

Boulder is setting itself up for a demographic crisis, but that's been true for years. Boulder doesn't have a lot of room to grow out -- mountains on one side, cities on three sides -- and does not want to grow up or more dense. It's a small version of San Francisco's problem. But this? This makes it worse. Historically, grad students in many disciplines have stayed in the area after they've gotten their degrees because it's a good place to live. Now? There's less keeping them and it's harder for them to try to stay, so we're losing all of the talent.

I have huge issues with the BCH monopoly -- it's not serving the community. It's much harder for the elderly, disabled and hard of hearing to make appointments, with much longer wait times and shorter patient interactions; they are charging insurance far more than other large provider groups in Denver or Colorado Springs, but not paying for the labor. Who have to commute in, because BCH isn't paying enough for people to live in the area, so a bad storm paralyzes the hospitals. BCH started as a community hospital, with massive subsidies from the city. It got privatized about 30 years ago, but it's only been in the last 5-10 years that they've gone monopolistic.

Just a reminder: blue cities aren't immune from the worst instincts of late-stage vulture capitalism.