@Jonathanglick Yes, precisely. St. Louis is just one of many smaller cities that fueled a boom in those HQ cities -- and placed them on a pseudo-virtuous cycle where all the benefits accrue to a smaller and smaller number of locations. Failure to enforce laws around corporate monopolies leads to a "monopoly of location."
@Devilstower @Jonathanglick I was regrettably part of that cycle, moving from St. Louis to a new HQ city (Seattle) because my white-collar career plateaued. I took my spending and investment in city real estate with me.
@hans @Jonathanglick That's absolutely a side effect of all the HQs moving. There's only so high you can rise in a company where all the top dogs are elsewhere.