Posted on 01/01/2006 12:38:52 AM PST by SmithL
The Census Bureau's mid-decade population estimate shows definitively that the American political center of gravity has shifted to the South and West. Those states are now as politically dominant as the Northeast and Midwest were in 1940.
That trend will accelerate when the 435 House seats are reapportioned after the full decennial census in 2010. Texas and Florida are expected to gain three seats each. Nevada, Arizona and Utah are likely to gain a seat.
New York and Ohio are likely to lose two each, and Iowa, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts will also lose.
The exception to growth in the South was Louisiana, which even before Katrina was on track to lose a seat. This latest census estimate was conducted before the mass migration out of New Orleans so the state may yet lose more clout.
The South did indeed rise again; 36 percent of the nation's population lives there, putting it well ahead of the other regions -- the West with 23 percent, the Midwest with 22 percent and the Northeast with 18 percent.
The three states that lost population between 2000 and 2004 were Rhode Island, New York and Massachusetts.
During that period, Tennessee's population, which stands at about 5.9 million, grew by 3.7 percent, lower than the national average of 4.3 percent. During the previous decade, from 1990 to 2000, the state's population grew 16.7 percent, exceeding the national average of 13.1 percent.
Over half the nation, 54 percent, lives in the 10 most populous states, a concentration that could grow as the Census Bureau found that over half, 52 percent, of the population growth from 2004 to 2005 occurred in just five states, Florida, Texas, California, Arizona and Georgia.
For the 19th straight year, Nevada grew at the fastest rate followed by Arizona, Idaho, Florida, Utah, Georgia, Texas, North Carolina, Delaware -- the only state outside the South and West among the top 10 -- and Oregon.
The 2010 reapportionment will mark a significant shift in the national political balance of power. We can only hope that redrawing the new congressional districts will be in the hands of dispassionate, nonpartisan bodies that will end the politically self-serving practice of carving out noncompetitive, one-party districts.
For what it's worth, the population as of last July 1 was 296.4 million. We should hit the 300 million mark sometime in 2007.Experts give various reasons -- weather, jobs, affordable housing -- for the exodus out of the Northeast and Midwest, but is there any way to reverse that migration? We like Ohio Republican chairman Bob Bennett's idea. He told the Associated Press: "If you ever banned air conditioning, I think people would flock back."
I'm sorry to miss your company but happy that I saved your involuntary contribution to our local lunacy. (The neatest campgrounds that I know around here are Chevelon Crossing (south of Winslow) and Bear Lake (way, way south of Winslow). Both provide toilets, barbeque grids, and picnic tables. They are seldom frequented but really beautiful spots. Bear Lake is alpine and Chevelon Crossing is canyonlands.
If only you were right! It used to be that way but during the 90's we got Californicated but good. I miss old Flagstaff but spend a lot of time in the Riverton/Lander area of Wyoming (makes me nostalgic).
Do you have any more details/proof of this? This is the first time I have heard of this allegation. Thanks.
But still the wealthiest, I mean in terms of "old" money?
Thank you for the campground info. I'm looking at visiting Painted Desert and the Grand Canyon.
Looks like it to me, too.
If they're Democrat they don't have to acually exist to vote. Nor to be on the NOLA or LA payroll.
Although I believe New Hampshire is going blue, this story was all over local talk radio on Election Day. Cars and busses loaded with democrats flooding into NH to 'tip' it to Kerry. There was an unusual number of cars with Vermont plates around the polling places in the Lebanon area, as well.
The cultural zeitgeist in Blue states just gets too much to deal with when it's pretty easy these days to execute the "interstate cure."
True. And when people in blue states, especially cities, do have kids they begin to realize just how non-family-friendly these places can be. Some major urban areas are almost completely devoid of children.
So once the kids do come along, it's natural to start thinking about options to go someplace a little friendlier to the fam.
A case in point is Florida. All the New Yorkers flocking there are bringing their blue politics with them.
The true blue Blues wouldn't think of moving to a red state, so there's some self-selection in our favor going on here.
But there still is some blueness moving with these people.
See this lots of places in Virginia. Many fams with 3 or more kids and no sign of slowing down.
The more people per square mile, the more liberal they will think and vote.
Doesn't matter.
The more people you pack into a state, the more liberal will become the state.
Well by that theory, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York should be trending to the Repuplicans, all three states are currently depopulating.
Lot of smartasses around here, I learned during my years in southern Arizona--BFE means "Bjg Fried Empty." Stretches about a thousand miles in all directions.
New York has grown, but all growth in concentrated in the city, and is still not as rapid as that of the South and interior west. Upstate New York has been depopulating for 40 years and will become "the Big Empty" within my lifetime.
Can you still stand on a corner in Winslow?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.