If poor people have income not tied to a specific location, I'm expecting that they're going to move to lower-cost locations, rather than stay in expensive urban areas. So I further would expect that this will overall depress rents in urban areas.
> If poor people have income not tied to a specific location, I'm expecting that they're going to move to lower-cost locations, rather than stay in expensive urban areas.
So why haven't we seen a massive exodus to Detroit or Mississippi? Outside of coastal areas US already tends to be affordable and accessible.
In economic model of the last century - sure. People would spend at their local milkman and butcher, who would in turn hire a local glassblower, who would spend some with local seamstress, who could finally afford the services of local blacksmith.
In the modern economy an increased demand for goods benefits very select entities - mainly a Chinese manufacturer, a Danish shipper, and Seattle-based Amazon.com. There's some job creation to the effect that a UPS guy needs to be hired to deliver those goods, but middlemen are likely to be squeezed on margins, while the value creation is taking place abroad.
