As some have already noted, if we get our house in order, growth would take care of itself. This "growth for the sake of growth" is old school. If you are going to move your company or yourself, you want to move where there are great amenities and quality of life, such as schools and education, easy transit, diverse and quality things to do, great climate and natural environments, character of place, etc. We have much of this but have also mismanaged much. I would say we rate at best a "C" in exploiting our assets. Until we do better, I expect us to languish against the cities we wish to compare ourselves to otherwise.
One day, perhaps, a new citizen regime will move in and take us to the promised land. Some of those citizens are here now, but we lack the full number. Unfortunately, we are on a treadmill in which many of these visionaries give up on us and go elsewhere to contribute where they can make more of a difference or find what they already envision exists.
