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Comment by MavisBacon | Hacker News Reader

Baltimore is one of the most dangerous cities in the world, constantly dealing with people fleeing the city for the county, and they have been in large numbers since the 70s. Not the same flavor of hysteria as SF or Portland

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I would suggest that something rhymes in the how prosecutorial discretion and bail policies are implemented in each of these places, though my point isn’t to compare one city to the other aside from them all being examples of “one reaps what one sows” at a practical policy level.

Baltimore is one of the most entrenched cities in US on a number of levels. It’s kind of ridiculous you are comparing the hyperwoke follies of SF and Portland with the outright despair and corruption in Baltimore. We have not reaped what we have sown, we hardly have a shot

They're not the same, but speaking as someone who's been both cities, there are some interesting similarities . Both endemic corruption by a single party which uses social issues as a ploy to forestall reform. Baltimore is a poor city that has been forgotten, whereas SF is a rich city in the limelight. Baltimore's problems begin much earlier, SF's problems are relatively more recent; but the rot in both speaks to a deeper shared problem in American society.

The longevity of a city's sad state doesn't seem to have any bearing on the dynamic of "bad policies delivering bad outcomes". I feel like this is the third time saying it so don't worry about a fourth, but the comparison was limited strictly to that equation.

The character of the bad outcomes certainly changes with longevity, such as entrenchment, as you mention. The fixes must also be different. I'm not disagreeing with you that these cities and their situations are entirely different.

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