What he said certainly jives with my experiences l...

What he said certainly jives with my experiences living in upstate NY the past decade (just recently moved back to TX). We lived outside of Albany, NY's capitol. Albany, like Detroit, struggles with the burden of high infrastructure cost because it is made up of non-taxable state properties, low-income housing, and a poor tax base. High crime, gang violence, and middle-class evacuation has left them in a terrible bind. They aren't Detroit yet, but their situation, I would think, is unsustainable long term.

Many in the suburbs used to live in Albany proper. They still use its roads, work in its office buildings (again, mostly state, so no taxes to city for those buildings), and take advantage of its free museums, hospitals, and parks. What they don't do, what they would never do is merge their cities to spread out the expenses of the infrastructure, etc. and broaden the tax base. But that is what should happen in many of these cities. Too many needlessly separated city govts that would be better off in the big picture through administrative mergers...but I don't hold my breath. Those in positions of power an influence are those who will roadblock such an idea.