Thread by @fawfulfan

Wow. Venture capitalists are swooping into the GOP tax bill's designated "opportunity zones" and investing in real estate.

If you're poor and live in one of these economically-disadvantaged areas, good luck affording your rent in five years. businessinsider.com/venture-capita…

Republicans really, really still don't get it. The decline of factory towns is not just because there aren't enough rich people there. It's a problem with human capital. We're investing wildly different amounts in various types of workers, and that's leading to inequality.

You can't solve that problem by creating an "opportunity zone" and giving tax breaks to rich people who pump money into those areas, for one simple reason: it's easier to move workers than train them.

In other words, if you give billionaires money to open an office in Poortown, they won't hire people from Poortown. They'll recruit people from Richtown to move to Poortown, all the original Poortownians will get no jobs, and the cost of living will go up.

That is a major driver of how inequality has increased in cities. It's not enough to invest in poor communities, you have to invest in the people. Give them access to credit. Give them training.

Don't just tell billionaires to park their money there. That makes it worse!