Last week on the show, we asked if the problems caused by COVID-19 are so severe that New York City might be over.

Over my dead body is New York City over.

Bervado, notwithstanding, there are a lot of problems.

The city is projecting $6,7 billion deficits.

What appears to be an increase in homicide rates?

Well, if we have people work from home, that home could be anywhere.

New York City's problems are not unique to New York.

Thousands of cities in the US are looking at big budget shortfalls.

One and a half million city and state workers have already been laid off, with more cuts likely without federal aid.

And while cities have become more and more popular over the past few decades,

an urbanizing trend that no one saw coming, especially after so many cities suffered so badly during the 1970s,

the data seemed to show that we may have hit peak city a couple of years ago.

Even before the pandemic, New York was losing some population.

Even though crime was still historically low, it had been rising.

The wage premium, conferred by New York and many other cities, wasn't such a premium anymore.

The biggest reason? All those higher wages were being sucked up by higher urban housing costs.

It is a familiar paradox.

As a place becomes attractive over time, rising demand to live there drives up housing prices,

which makes it less attractive for many people, or at least less viable.

What happens to housing when a pandemic strikes?

Well, a lot. As we heard last week, some people have fled New York,

although probably not nearly as many as feared.

...