“Economic development.” As a socialist elected to public office, no other phrase gives me more heartburn.

For pro-business politicians of both major parties, announcing an economic development project is an easy political move. Bipartisan support is almost guaranteed, and unanimous praise from the media surely follows, so they practically elbow each other out of the way to get in front of the camera at one of these announcements. Filled with feel-good phrases like “new jobs” and “billions in investment,” it’s certainly easy to see why.

But the flowery language covers up the cold reality: conventional economic development often destroys communities and impoverishes families by reshaping places to be more palatable to affluent transplants.