Two years ago, a noted economist wondered in print if Atlanta was another Detroit, a place where “the American dream seems to be dying, where the children of the poor have great difficulty climbing the economic ladder.” Earlier this year, AJC reporters Dan Chapman, Jeff Ernsthausen and Michael Kanell compared Atlanta to Charlotte and the Dallas-Fort Worth market in a series of articles that found our city didn’t measure up so well. Today’s writers, though, say our major hub has challenges but suggest the good outweighs the bad.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Lily Alberto participates in a protest on ICE raids and deportation arrests on Chamblee-Tucker Road in Atlanta on Saturday, June 14, 2025. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Featured

Delta employees are under investigation because of content “related to the recent murder of activist Charlie Kirk” that “went well beyond healthy, respectful debate,” CEO Ed Bastian wrote in a companywide memo Friday. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez