Discussion on:

The top 20 small cities in America

... may reveal something of the author's prejudices.

What criteria should the magazine have used that they didn't? That might be enlightening. Otherwise, this seems to be a dis on Money Magazine, its readers, and affluent, predominantly Caucasian communities.

Regardless, I don't see how a list like this has anything to do with a 'smarter planet'. So why write about it?

I was aiming for tongue-in-cheek, hopefully the updated post makes this clear!

Regarding Carmel, IN "It is 85.4% White and according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau, has a median household income of $120,988."

Why is Carmel singled out for the white population? It seems racist that the white population figures are listed. What the heck?

Please take a look at the updated post - I was aiming for tongue-in-cheek, hopefully the updated post makes this clear!

"[...]this is essentially a list of rich suburban America."

Sounds like a poor American urbanite has a chip on her shoulder. How about you figure out a way to be happy with who you are, like I am as a poor, rural American, and quit writing pieces that scream racism and lack of self-worth? I've seen some questionable postings here on SmartPlanet and its sister publication, TechRepublic, but this one takes the cake. SmartPlanet, if you are paying attention, your writers are attempting to destroy your rep. I'd suggest deleting this article ASAP.

-Jason

I was aiming for tongue-in-cheek, I hope you'll take a look at the updated post.

"Screams racism"...."lack of self-worth".....this "anal-ysis" comes from from the mind of pathological paranoid who sees racism and bigotry behind every statement,and apparently has no sense of humor. Why just even mentioning the word "white" has racist overtones - doesn't it?

There's an old SF story of a spaceship crew arguing over where the 'best place' is, with each pushing their favorite. It came down to a bet with a crewman who's favorite was something (I can't remember,) and they finally put it up to their telepath, who agreed with him--the word translated as 'home.'

We like simple answers--even to complex questions. "Best' is one of the slippry ones, as it depends upon who you are and what you like.

A person born & raised in and who loves a megalopolis like New York, LA, San Francisco, London, Paris, Hong Kong is unlikely to enjoy ANY of these smaller cities, and find them boring at best.

Anyone will probably be uncomfortable in a town where they are one of a kind.

Some are never comfortable where they are, and must keep moving.

My city is under 20,000 but close to Minneapolis. I like Minneapolis o.k., but I'm not tempted to move there. A few years ago I was close enough to take a day trip into NYC...I couldn't think of a single reason to spend the entire day getting in, out and around the city. (No offense, NYC.)

I've lived in major cities, I moved to where I grew up because to me, it's always been home. I only left to find work.

Do you know who worked the cotton and feed mills? It was the very people that allowed these small city utopias to spring up. The problem with America today is greed. The prevailing attitude is bias against industry. Industry is what makes service jobs possible. Without an industrial base a service economy is useless. It is no coinincidence a magazine called "money" would glorify those who would walk on the backs of the average worker who built their Utopia.

By compiling the list they might just've ruined it for these towns' populace. On a side note, according to official statistics racial makeup of the population *does* have a strong correlation with the wealth, education and crime rates, at least in the US and Europe - http://www.rocketspanishreport.com