BRO reader Pamela R. has passed along an item of interest that many people will simply scoff at, for obvious reasons. The article on BloombergView was written by Justin Fox, who hypothetically tells the story of the city of Buffalo, as it secedes from the US to Canada. Of course, since the recent presidential election, some people have playfully bandied about the idea, but Fox takes the scenario to a completely different level.
“If Buffalo joined Ontario, it would instantly be transformed from frozen, remote, shrinking northern outpost of the U.S. to affordable architectural gem of the burgeoning Southern Ontario megalopolis. It would have the lovely Niagara wine country in its backyard (it already does, but those vineyards would seem closer). The State University of New York at Buffalo would go from somewhere in the 100s in the U.S. to top-20 school in Canada, according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities. The University of Rochester, if the secessionary impulse carried that far, would be in the top 5. The Buffalo Bills would be the best football team in Canada (I think). Rick James would enter — nay, dominate! — the pantheon of greatest-ever Canadian pop stars.”