# Why Is Atlanta, GA Not Charlotte, NC the Capital of the South **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 26, 2009, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-atlanta-ga-not-charlotte-nc-the-capital-of-the-south/511615 "2009-09-26T02:48:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Rumor\_Watkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@Rumor\_Watkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rumor_Watkins)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-atlanta-ga-not-charlotte-nc-the-capital-of-the-south/511615/41 "2009-09-28T16:03:45Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Internationally, I think Atlanta is bigger than SF, Miami and Boston easily. As mentioned above some of the worlds biggest and most influential cooporations are based out of there. I can’t speak as to Atlanta’s domestic influence. SF is the center of the global IT industry and is a gateway to Asia Miami is a gateway to Latin America Boston is really the debatable one Atlanta’s Gross Metropolitan Product (GDP for the city) puts it 10th in the nation - the only one of my cities on that list with a lower GMP is Miami at #11, and I would still assert that its South/Latin America positioning gives it the nod over ATL. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-atlanta-ga-not-charlotte-nc-the-capital-of-the-south/511615/42 "2009-09-28T16:10:41Z")
Well, anybody who’s ever flown in an airplane domestically has probably been there, like it or not. 🙂 I went to college in Atlanta. I can’t imagine anybody with a wide variety of educational choices going to college in Charlotte. Is that indicative? (Unless you want a culinary arts degree from Johnson and Wales - I took a class there a year ago and was duly impressed.) Atlanta has Emory, Georgia State, and Georgia Tech as well as my alma mater (Agnes Scott), an asston of historically black colleges including Morehouse and Spelman, etc. There are more than 30 institutions of higher learning in the Atlanta metro area, most of them actually in town. Charlotte has… UNC Charlotte? Not even the state’s flagship university? Davidson is nearby, but not in town in any real way. Queens University? Colleges and universities are a lot of the driving force behind the culture of a city. I’m sure Columbia would be a shithole without USC, as odd as that is to say. I’ve been to Charlotte many times, although I’ve never lived there. There’s no _there_ there. (There is, however, an Ikea and an Apple Store.) ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-atlanta-ga-not-charlotte-nc-the-capital-of-the-south/511615/43 "2009-09-28T16:39:41Z")
Ted Turner and the Milwaukee Braves really turned things around for Atlanta. If not for them, Charlotte would’ve been the capital. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-atlanta-ga-not-charlotte-nc-the-capital-of-the-south/511615/44 "2009-09-28T16:41:12Z")
[QUOTE=Dynamo;] Banks (didn’t Wachovia leave, btw?) [/QUOTE] No. Wachovia is still in Charlotte. They’re just about to change to color scheme from blue and green to Wells Fargo’s red and gold. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-atlanta-ga-not-charlotte-nc-the-capital-of-the-south/511615/45 "2009-09-28T19:22:20Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > As a foreigner, when I think of major US cities, its NYC, LA, Chicago, Houston and Atlanta. Charlotte although charming is not someplace that comes to mind. > > Atlanta is a major international business centre. Charlotte is an oversized Canary Wharf. Hopefully without the cybermen. I see more Charlotte Area Dopers coming out of the woodwork. Maybe it’s time to try another dope-fest? ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-atlanta-ga-not-charlotte-nc-the-capital-of-the-south/511615/46 "2009-09-28T19:41:04Z")
Another Charlotte tidbit - people from Charlotte have a real hard time winning a statewide election in NC. They have a long track record of losing when they run statewide. Gov. Jim Martin is the 1 exception, he served from 92-2000 but he tried to claim he was from Lake Norman which is just outside Charlotte. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-atlanta-ga-not-charlotte-nc-the-capital-of-the-south/511615/47 "2009-09-28T19:46:59Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > and is closer to the Boston-Washington Megalopolis so why is it less promient then Atlanta? How in the world would being closer to Boston give you points for being the capital of the SOUTH? ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-atlanta-ga-not-charlotte-nc-the-capital-of-the-south/511615/48 "2009-09-28T19:56:47Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Another Charlotte tidbit - people from Charlotte have a real hard time winning a statewide election in NC. They have a long track record of losing when they run statewide. Gov. Jim Martin is the 1 exception, he served from 92-2000 but he tried to claim he was from Lake Norman which is just outside Charlotte. According to one radio host, whom I otherwise like, it’s because the rest of the state is Jealous of Charlotte. ---
**Author:** ![Dynamo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d2c977/32.png) [@Dynamo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dynamo)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-atlanta-ga-not-charlotte-nc-the-capital-of-the-south/511615/49 "2009-09-28T22:22:40Z")
> [@Rumor\_Watkins](#): > > Atlanta’s Gross Metropolitan Product (GDP for the city) puts it 10th in the nation - the only one of my cities on that list with a lower GMP is Miami at #11, and I would still assert that its South/Latin America positioning gives it the nod over ATL. Give it time. Didn’t the FBI/DEA just say we were the ‘new Miami’ in terms of drug trafficking? ---
**Author:** ![Bartman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bartman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bartman)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-atlanta-ga-not-charlotte-nc-the-capital-of-the-south/511615/50 "2009-09-28T22:42:46Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Internationally, I think Atlanta is bigger than SF, Miami and Boston easily. As mentioned above some of the worlds biggest and most influential cooporations are based out of there. I can’t speak as to Atlanta’s domestic influence. According to the [Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) Research Network](http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/index.html) US cities rank as follows: Alphas - Very important world cities that link major economic regions and states into the world economy New York Chicago Betas - Important world cities that are instrumental in linking their region or state into the world economy Los Angles Washington **Atlanta** San Fransisco Dallas Boston Miami Houston Gammas - World cities linking smaller regions or states into the world economy, or important world cities whose major global capacity is not in advanced producer services Denver Minneapolis Seattle Philadelphia Portland (doesn’t specify which, I am assuming Oregon) Detroit San Diego High Sufficiency - Cities that are not world cities as defined here but they have sufficient services so as not to be overtly dependent on world cities. Two specialised categories of city are common at this level of integration: smaller capital cities, and traditional centres of manufacturing regions Columbus (also not specified) Phoenix Cleveland Kansas City Pittsburgh Orlando **Charlotte** Indianapolis Baltamore St Louis Sacramento San Jose Milwaukee Richmond Las Vegas Sufficiency - Cities that are not world cities as defined here but they have sufficient services so as not to be overtly dependent on world cities. Two specialised categories of city are common at this level of integration: smaller capital cities, and traditional centres of manufacturing regions Memphis Nashville Honolulu Omaha **Raleigh** Hartford Salt Lake City Austin Tulsa Birmingham Cincinnati New Orleans Buffalo It is an interesting site. And it has all the base data available as downloadable Excel files. Here for example are some data points between Atlanta and Charlotte (showing why they have ranks they do). Data Set 11 World City Network: The Basic Data (number and size of Global 100 company offices) - Atlanta: 122, Charlotte: 49 Data Set 21.1 Embassys recieved - Atlanta: 6, Charlotte: 0. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-atlanta-ga-not-charlotte-nc-the-capital-of-the-south/511615/51 "2009-09-29T02:02:06Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > How in the world would being closer to Boston give you points for being the capital of the SOUTH? I meant in general the vast East Coast metropolis which would mean it would be a better location for New York or Washington investors. > [@Bartman](#): > > According to the [Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) Research Network](http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/index.html) US cities rank as follows: > > Alphas - Very important world cities that link major economic regions and states into the world economy > New York > Chicago > > Betas - Important world cities that are instrumental in linking their region or state into the world economy > Los Angles > Washington > **Atlanta** > San Fransisco > Dallas > Boston > Miami > Houston > > Gammas - World cities linking smaller regions or states into the world economy, or important world cities whose major global capacity is not in advanced producer services > Denver > Minneapolis > Seattle > Philadelphia > Portland (doesn’t specify which, I am assuming Oregon) > Detroit > San Diego > > High Sufficiency - Cities that are not world cities as defined here but they have sufficient services so as not to be overtly dependent on world cities. Two specialised categories of city are common at this level of integration: smaller capital cities, and traditional centres of manufacturing regions > Columbus (also not specified) > Phoenix > Cleveland > Kansas City > Pittsburgh > Orlando > **Charlotte** > Indianapolis > Baltamore > St Louis > Sacramento > San Jose > Milwaukee > Richmond > Las Vegas > > Sufficiency - Cities that are not world cities as defined here but they have sufficient services so as not to be overtly dependent on world cities. Two specialised categories of city are common at this level of integration: smaller capital cities, and traditional centres of manufacturing regions > Memphis > Nashville > Honolulu > Omaha > **Raleigh** > Hartford > Salt Lake City > Austin > Tulsa > Birmingham > Cincinnati > New Orleans > Buffalo > > It is an interesting site. And it has all the base data available as downloadable Excel files. Here for example are some data points between Atlanta and Charlotte (showing why they have ranks they do). > Data Set 11 World City Network: The Basic Data (number and size of Global 100 company offices) - Atlanta: 122, Charlotte: 49 > Data Set 21.1 Embassys recieved - Atlanta: 6, Charlotte: 0. When was the list made?!?! Chicago’s more important then Los Angeles or Washington DC? Kansas City and Orlando are more important then Las Vegas? ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-atlanta-ga-not-charlotte-nc-the-capital-of-the-south/511615/52 "2009-09-29T03:01:04Z")
Showing my bias as someone in the education field… but as **Zsofia** said, there are no major colleges or universities in Charlotte. Higher education brings a young workforce (as well as entertainment options, etc.). If Charlotte’s dependent on people _moving_ there for work, rather than having a population of smart people that just decide to stay after college, that seems to be an impediment. (I have a friend who went to UNC Charlotte - at the time it was a pretty small commuter school.) ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-atlanta-ga-not-charlotte-nc-the-capital-of-the-south/511615/53 "2009-09-29T11:58:41Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > When was the list made?!?! Chicago’s more important then Los Angeles or Washington DC? Kansas City and Orlando are more important then Las Vegas? Chicago is a major port to the midwest. It also has a very important commodity exchange. Las Vegas is a tourist destination. Orlando has additional industries in addition to the theme parks. Kansas City is a major center in our food supply. Unless you’re buying organic, local grown beef, I guarantee you the meat in you hamburger passed through Kansas City. ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-atlanta-ga-not-charlotte-nc-the-capital-of-the-south/511615/54 "2009-09-29T13:28:28Z")
Side note — Isn’t Boston about 400 miles from Washington, DC? That’s hardly a megalopolis. DC and Baltimore aren’t even really one entity, and they’re nearly overlapping when you get to the outskirts. ---
**Author:** ![Bartman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bartman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bartman)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-atlanta-ga-not-charlotte-nc-the-capital-of-the-south/511615/55 "2009-09-29T13:55:58Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > When was the list made?!?! Chicago’s more important then Los Angeles or Washington DC? Kansas City and Orlando are more important then Las Vegas? This is the 2008 data set. They currently do a full data review every 4 years. They still have the 2000 and 2004 articles up [here](http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/gawcworlds.html). in 2000 LA and Chicago had the same rank and were practically tied. But LA has dropped precipitously in the 2004 and 2008 rankings. I should make a bit clearer, what exactly is being represented here. This is the connectivity level and relative importance of a city within the global city network. They measure this by trade and transportation links, and the existence of major international entities within the city (corporations, NGOs, UN entities, embassies and the like). There is this interesting note in the 2008 data set, however: But the USA is a special case with its cities being reported as under-represented in the world city network in 2000 (Taylor 2004; Taylor and Lang 2004) and 2004 (Taylor and Aranya 2008). The 2008 results continue and perhaps accentuate this trend. This appears to be a result of the US home market for advanced producer services being far greater than for any other country. This has two key effects. First, foreign firms find it hard to penetrate the market and tend to represent clients through just a New York office. Second, US service firms have less reason to gamble on global expansion – compare Chicago PR company with an Amsterdam company, the former can make better profits through domestic expansion, the former can only expand through new cross-border work. Both effects lead to a tendency for US cities other than New York being less integrated in the world city network. This may also account for relative positions of US cities within the network. LA may have become more insular and US centric faster than Chicago. But it is hard to say for sure. Likewise Miami’s relatively high position is probably due to its strong links to the Caribbean and Latin America. ---
**Author:** ![Bartman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bartman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bartman)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-atlanta-ga-not-charlotte-nc-the-capital-of-the-south/511615/56 "2009-09-29T14:02:30Z")
> [@johnspartan](#): > > Side note — Isn’t Boston about 400 miles from Washington, DC? That’s hardly a megalopolis. DC and Baltimore aren’t even really one entity, and they’re nearly overlapping when you get to the outskirts. Actually it is the original Megalopolis. Hate using Wiki as a cite but: The term was used by Lewis Mumford in his 1938 book, The Culture of Cities, which described it as the first stage in urban overdevelopment and social decline. Later, it was used by Jean Gottmann in 1957, to describe the huge metropolitan area along the Eastern seaboard of the U.S. extending from Boston, Massachusetts through New York City; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and ending in Washington, D.C. According to Gottmann, it resulted from changes in work and social habits. The concept was later extended to include the following regions: BosWash (Boston–Washington), ChiPitts (Chicago to Pittsburgh), Quebec City – Windsor Corridor, SanSan, and Bajalta California. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-atlanta-ga-not-charlotte-nc-the-capital-of-the-south/511615/57 "2009-09-29T23:42:44Z")
> [@Bartman](#): > > This is the 2008 data set. They currently do a full data review every 4 years. They still have the 2000 and 2004 articles up [here](http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/gawcworlds.html). in 2000 LA and Chicago had the same rank and were practically tied. But LA has dropped precipitously in the 2004 and 2008 rankings. > > I should make a bit clearer, what exactly is being represented here. This is the connectivity level and relative importance of a city within the global city network. They measure this by trade and transportation links, and the existence of major international entities within the city (corporations, NGOs, UN entities, embassies and the like). There is this interesting note in the 2008 data set, however: > But the USA is a special case with its cities being reported as under-represented in the world city network in 2000 (Taylor 2004; Taylor and Lang 2004) and 2004 (Taylor and Aranya 2008). The 2008 results continue and perhaps accentuate this trend. This appears to be a result of the US home market for advanced producer services being far greater than for any other country. This has two key effects. First, foreign firms find it hard to penetrate the market and tend to represent clients through just a New York office. Second, US service firms have less reason to gamble on global expansion – compare Chicago PR company with an Amsterdam company, the former can make better profits through domestic expansion, the former can only expand through new cross-border work. Both effects lead to a tendency for US cities other than New York being less integrated in the world city network. > This may also account for relative positions of US cities within the network. LA may have become more insular and US centric faster than Chicago. But it is hard to say for sure. Likewise Miami’s relatively high position is probably due to its strong links to the Caribbean and Latin America. Not really. Most Asian businessmen invest in Los Angeles and it’s area while there are far fewer foreign investors in Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![Bartman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bartman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bartman)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-atlanta-ga-not-charlotte-nc-the-capital-of-the-south/511615/58 "2009-09-30T00:34:32Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > Not really. Most Asian businessmen invest in Los Angeles and it’s area while there are far fewer foreign investors in Chicago. And your evidence for this is? I provided links and quotes from a organization formed to study city inter-connectivity. They have hundreds of articles and thousands of data points. To counter this you have provided a two sentence statement with no supporting evidence. Now I am perfectly willing to accept that GaWC may be wrong. But it will take more than an unsupported statement of fact. Do you actually have a study of some sort to demonstrate preferential Asian investment in the LA area? And do you have any studies that demonstrate that there are more foreign investors in LA than Chicago? ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-atlanta-ga-not-charlotte-nc-the-capital-of-the-south/511615/59 "2009-09-30T01:18:01Z")
> [@Bartman](#): > > And your evidence for this is? I provided links and quotes from a organization formed to study city inter-connectivity. They have hundreds of articles and thousands of data points. To counter this you have provided a two sentence statement with no supporting evidence. > > Now I am perfectly willing to accept that GaWC may be wrong. But it will take more than an unsupported statement of fact. > > Do you actually have a study of some sort to demonstrate preferential Asian investment in the LA area? And do you have any studies that demonstrate that there are more foreign investors in LA than Chicago? First of all Los Angeles has more people then Chicago. Also [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los\_Angeles](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles) > [@](#): > > The economy of Los Angeles is driven by international trade, entertainment (television, motion pictures, interactive games, recorded music), aerospace, technology, petroleum, fashion, apparel, and tourism. Los Angeles is also the largest manufacturing center in the western United States.[52] The contiguous ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach together comprise the fifth busiest port in the world and the most significant port in the Western Hemisphere and is vital to trade within the Pacific Rim.[52] Other significant industries include media production, finance, telecommunications, law, healthcare, and transportation. The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside combined statistical area (CSA) has a gross metropolitan product (GMP) of $811.7 billion (as of 2007), making it the third largest economic center in the world, after the Greater Tokyo Area and the New York-Newark-Bridgeport CSA.[53] If counted as a country, the Greater Los Angeles CSA has the 15th largest economy in the world in terms of nominal GDP, placing it just below Australia and above the Netherlands, Turkey, Sweden, Belgium, and Indonesia.[54] > > Until the mid-1990s, Los Angeles was home to many major financial institutions in the western United States. Mergers meant reporting to headquarters in other cities. For instance, First Interstate Bancorp merged with Wells Fargo in 1996, Great Western Bank merged with Washington Mutual in 1998, and Security Pacific Bank merged with Bank of America in 1992. Los Angeles was also home to the Pacific Exchange, until it closed in 2001. > > The city is home to six Fortune 500 companies. They are aerospace contractor Northrop Grumman, energy company Occidental Petroleum, healthcare provider Health Net, metals distributor Reliance Steel & Aluminum, engineering firm AECOM, and real estate group CB Richard Ellis. > > Other companies headquartered in Los Angeles include City National Bank, 20th Century Fox, Latham & Watkins, Univision, Metro Interactive, LLC, Premier America, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, DeviantArt,[55] Guess?, O’Melveny & Myers; Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, Tokyopop, The Jim Henson Company, Paramount Pictures, Robinsons-May, Sunkist Growers, Incorporated, Fox Sports Net, Capital Group, 21st Century Insurance, and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. Korean Air’s US passenger and cargo operations headquarters are located in two separate offices in Los Angeles.[56] > > The metropolitan area contains the headquarters of companies who moved outside of the city to escape its taxes but keep the benefits of proximity.[57] For example, Los Angeles charges a gross receipts tax based on a percentage of business revenue, while many neighboring cities charge only small flat fees.[58] The companies below benefit from their proximity to Los Angeles, while at the same time avoiding the city’s taxes (and other problems). Some of the major companies headquartered in the cities of Los Angeles county are Shakey’s Pizza (Alhambra), Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Beverly Hills), Hilton Hotels (Beverly Hills), DIC Entertainment (Burbank), The Walt Disney Company (Fortune 500 – Burbank), Warner Bros. (Burbank), Countrywide Financial (Fortune 500 – Calabasas), THQ (Calabasas), Belkin (Compton), Sony Pictures Entertainment (parent of Columbia Pictures, located in Culver City), DirecTV (El Segundo), Mattel (Fortune 500 – El Segundo), Unocal Corporation (Fortune 500 – El Segundo), DreamWorks (Glendale), Sea Launch (Long Beach), ICANN (Marina del Rey), Cunard Line (Santa Clarita), Princess Cruises (Santa Clarita), Activision (Santa Monica), and RAND (Santa Monica). > > The University of Southern California (USC) is the city’s largest private sector employer and contributes $4 billion annually to the local economy.[59] Los Angeles is classified as a “beta+ world city” in a 2008 study by a research group at Loughborough University in England.[60] as for Chicago: [http: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago) > [@](#): > > Economy > Main article: Economy of Chicago > The Chicago Board of Trade Building at night > > Chicago has the third largest gross metropolitan product in the nation—approximately $506 billion according to 2007 estimates.[51] The city has also been rated as having the most balanced economy in the United States, due to its high level of diversification.[52] Chicago was named the fourth most important business center in the world in the MasterCard Worldwide Centers of Commerce Index.[53] Additionally, the Chicago metropolitan area recorded the greatest number of new or expanded corporate facilities in the United States for six of the past seven years.[54] In 2008, Chicago placed 16th on the UBS list of the world’s richest cities.[55] > > Chicago is a major world financial center, with the second largest central business district in the U.S.[56] The city is the headquarters of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (the Seventh District of the Federal Reserve). The city is also home to three major financial and futures exchanges, including the Chicago Stock Exchange, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (the “Merc”), which includes the former Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). Perhaps due to the influence of the Chicago school of economics, the city also has markets trading unusual contracts such as emissions (on the Chicago Climate Exchange) and equity style indices (on the U.S. Futures Exchange). > > The city and its surrounding metropolitan area are home to the second largest labor pool in the United States with approximately 4.25 million workers.[57] > > Manufacturing, printing, publishing and food processing also play major roles in the city’s economy. Several medical products and services companies are headquartered in the Chicago area, including Baxter International, Abbott Laboratories, and the Healthcare Financial Services division of General Electric. Moreover, the construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, which helped move goods from the Great Lakes south on the Mississippi River, and of the railroads in the 19th century made the city a major transportation center in the United States. In the 1840s, Chicago became a major grain port, and in the 1850s and 1860s Chicago’s pork and beef industry expanded. As the major meat companies grew in Chicago many, such as Armour and Company, created global enterprises. Though the meatpacking industry currently plays a lesser role in the city’s economy, Chicago continues to be a major transportation and distribution center. > > Late in the 19th Century, Chicago was part of the bicycle craze, as home to Western Wheel Company, which introduced stamping to the production process and significantly reduced costs,[58] while early in the 20th Century, the city was part of the automobile revolution, hosting the Brass Era car builder Bugmobile, which was founded there in 1907.[59] Chicago was also home to the Schwinn Bicycle Company. > > Chicago is a major world convention destination. The city’s main convention center is McCormick Place. With its four interconnected buildings, it is the third largest convention center in the world. Chicago also ranks third in the U.S. (behind Las Vegas and Orlando) in number of conventions hosted annually.[60] In addition, Chicago is home to eleven Fortune 500 companies, while the metropolitan area hosts an additional 21 Fortune 500 companies.[61] The state of Illinois is home to 66 Fortune 1000 companies.[62] The city of Chicago also hosts 12 Fortune Global 500 companies and 17 Financial Times 500 companies. The city claims one Dow 30 company as well: aerospace giant Boeing, which moved its headquarters from Seattle to the Chicago Loop in 2001. The Globalization and World Cities Research Network at Loughborough University in England classified Chicago as an “alpha− world city” in a 2008 study.[6 A gross metropolitan product of 811.7 Billion Dollars to 506 Billion dollars. Hmm ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-atlanta-ga-not-charlotte-nc-the-capital-of-the-south/511615/60 "2009-09-30T03:31:20Z")
To me, Charlotte has no identity. It’s miles and miles of strip malls and Bojangles. There are some very significant businesses and industries and a large, diverse population, but there is nothing about it that makes you say “That’s so Charlotte.” There isn’t a lot of civic pride or unity or local historical lore. (You go to Atlanta and it’s Braves! and Gone with the Wind, for example.) I think unofficial capitals need to have something special about them, and there is nothing to distinguish Charlotte from any place else. Charlotte’s not a bad place, but it’s just kind of bland. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-atlanta-ga-not-charlotte-nc-the-capital-of-the-south/511615.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-atlanta-ga-not-charlotte-nc-the-capital-of-the-south/511615.md?page=4)