2010 Census: State Population Numbers Released

[tufsu1]

The District of Columbia has more people than the state of Wyoming, yet Wyoming has two Senators and a Representative and DC only has a non-voting delegate.  Fair?

like others said, its all about taxes....but not what you think

in this case, the problem is Congress and lobbyists....if DC were allowed to become a state, they would also be allowed to implement a state income tax...which would be a huge problem for all those richy rich's working in DC.

[Traveller]

DC does impose an income tax on its residents, 8.5% to be exact.  However, DC-VA-MD have entered into a tax treaty under which you pay state/local income tax based on where you live rather than where you work.  Ordinarily, you're taxed based on where you earn your income, then you take a credit for that tax on your resident state return.  The treaty overrides that.  As a result, if you work on K Street but live in McLean, you pay the 5.75% Virginia tax rather than the 8.5% DC tax.

[redglittercoffin]

"It's all about taxes, stupid."

True.  Plus less regulation and cheaper labor.

Everyone will be moving to Somalia next.  There's NO governmental interference there!

Yes.  And everyone is thriving in North Korea because the government interferes with everything right?

My strawman is prettier than your strawman. 

[north miami]

conservation land needs to be vastly expanded.

And who here knows of the Northeast Florida Timberlands Reserve,or Osceola to Ocala (O2O) conservation lands initiatives?? 

                                  conserveflorida.org   

[Dog Walker]

Jason & North,  Gov. Scott intends to sell off state owned conservation lands.

[north miami]

Jason & North,  Gov. Scott intends to sell off state owned conservation lands.

Not so easy.
First-political conservatives have historically been and remain a key powerful constituency for state lands programs.Conservation land 'sale' proposals will see push back from some political conservative circles.
(Already we have seen a hint as to the landscape-I know of many gun owners who ignored the NRA Scott endorsement and voted for Sink,who after all lost the election by a tiny fraction.....)

Our state constitution-amended in the late 90's,in conjunction with the amendment transferring salt water fisheries and morphing the former Fish & Game Commission in to Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission also holds a protective fire wall- language regarding surplus of state conservation lands.The mainstream,conservatively rooted Florida Wildlife Federation was central in this effort.
This element of our State Constitution has remained obscure for most.It's a 'nuclear option' not be be casually pressed by either 'side' at least untill now.A rare draw of the constitutional surplus sword-in this case simply the threat of knock down drag out battle- occurred over the proposed routing of the First Coast Beltway through existing conservation lands/Ravines.The proposed roadway was shifted away from the Ravines.
Constitutional Amendments,DCA et al-forced on pissed off local development players who now guide Scott.

[AaroniusLives]

Its obvious that the south is growing much more rapidly than the north.   IMO, climate/weather and overpopulation are huge factors for why the northeast is declining and the south is growing.  The southern climates are much more supportive of year round quality of life and allow buisnesses to operate more effectively when they don't have to fight the nasty winter months.

Just to be clear, the northeast isn't declining; the northeast is growing less rapidly than it did in the past. Since the northeast (or, roughly the area from metro Washington DC to metro Boston,) hit "build out" first, it makes sense that they are not growing at a percentage rate as fast as the south and the southwest. What is interesting is that despite the crowds, despite the expensive costs of living, and despite the cold weather (which sucks, FYI. Snow is fun once or twice,) the northeast is still growing.

It's also interesting to note that this just details population growth, not the kind of person or people making up the percentage points. For example, Massachusetts has made up for their middle class "snowbird" class vacating by becoming a health and sciences oriented state. Their growth rate may have slowed, but they've replaced what they've lost with a moneyed, educated and professional class. Nevada's growth rate is off the hook, but consider the people moving there: a society of uneducated casino workers (a gross generalization, but you get the point.) For an example closer to [my] home, most of Virginia's and Maryland's growth happened in the metro DC areas of Western Maryland and Northern Virginia. This region nearly requires education and intellect to settle here, so while 9 and 13 percent don't top the list, consider the smarties building the future of those states.

This was a long way to make the point that it's not just about the numbers. It's about the people you're attracting to your state. I spent most of my life in South Florida, and watched as the population massively increased, and the developers massively turned over the ground to house, feed and "shop" those new peeps. But, despite all the old folks, South Florida didn't steal the "health and sciences" crown from Boston. Despite all the theme parks and entertainment venues, Central Florida has neither replaced California nor New York as the entertainment capital. It's not just "get the people to move here," it's "get the right people to move here." (And that's not racist, it's elitist. Proudly.)

As mentioned above, Texas did this very right, combining the "climate is awesome" story with the "good for business" story that most SunBelt states share...but not leaving out the "invest in education" story or the "diversify your economy" story that are the hallmarks of the (still growing) Northeast Corridor. To be fair to Florida, they've certainly tried to diversify the economy (and in places like South Florida and Tampa,) they've succeeded, but it's hard to steer a ship this big away from the "growth for growth sake" and "tourism rules" paths, after they've been traveling along them for a while.

2. We could be in REAL DANGER... Last time NY, MA, NJ, PA, OH, MI, IL, IA, MO lost so many seats in Congress they created what amounted to a race war to adjust our population back down. Wonder what they'll claim this time, so they can crush us, and spend another 150 years punishing us for losing. Just wondering...

Nobody had to "create" a race war. The South kept slaves, had draconian laws to keep the slaves from running up North to freedom, and while the North wasn't exactly racist-free, and the Civil War wasn't fought merely to free the black folks, it was the South, by insisting on maintaining the institution of slavery and by committing a treasonous act (by seceding from the damned country,) that "created" that conflict. And thank heavens they lost.

As for the next 150 of "punishment," that's reaching quite a bit. Without slavery, the southern economy couldn't function. And the people of the South couldn't function without racism (and thus, without cooperation,) and thus, much of the "punishment" was self-inflicted. To have African-Americans leave the South, where they faced a massive barrage of restrictions on their "freedom," and move to the North where those restrictions were lessened, if not eliminated, is, yet again, another example of the self-inflicted "punishment." I'll give you 75 years...at most, before the "New South" began rising.

Finally, it's been a century and a half. Let it go, already. Whether it's called "The Civil War," or "The War of Northern Aggression," or "The War of Southern Ignorance" (my personal fave,) it's over. It's been over for a century and a half. It's quite a few generations of people beyond even an anecdotal relation to your life and mine (or to put it another way, no relative can regale us with stories of how they or their parents or their parent's parent's parents can tell us a lived-in Civil War yarn.) Jesus, can the Daughters of the Confederacy just let those souls sleep, already?

[simms3]

Aaroniuslives, great post.  I agree that the Daughters of the Confederacy is just about the most stupid thing ever.  It's ok to memorialize fallen soldiers, but not to memorialize the confederacy.  Also, I agree about why it's important to distinguish who you're attracting from how many you're attracting.  I also think Atlanta does a very good job of attracting an educated workforce being that Atlanta is one of the great higher education cities of the country like Boston, NYC, Chicago, Bay Area, LA, and Chicago.  In Atlanta, the focus is more on business rather than retirement/entertainment.  I think Jacksonville does a good job attracting decently educated people compared to most metros in Florida since our focus is on business and UF is nearby.  I also think the average retiree in Ponte Vedra is a cut above in class and education than retirees in St. Petersburg or parts of SE FL, and that adds to our culture via quality community involvement.

Stephen does make some good points, though.  I think what could have been done differently after the war could have made a better difference and it's hard to generalize life in the South pre-war.  Also, huge chunks of the population in VA, MA, and other more northern colonies were slaves via indentured servanthood for the 17th and better part of the 18th centuries.  White slaves were subject to no pay, harsh living conditions, cruelty, sale, and usually no freedom even when freedom was promised.  It's a part of history that usually gets no mention.

[reednavy]

I'm just waiting for the MSA, county/parish, and municipality data to come out in spring.

[tufsu1]

Actually Aaronious, Its only been 140 years since the Civil War. 

really?

[Doctor_K]

The war drug on a few years, officially ending in 1865, or 145 years ago.

So the real question is, is 145 closer to 140 or 150?

[finehoe]

Without slavery, the southern economy couldn't function.

The Northern states also had a huge economic stake in slavery and the cotton trade. By the mid 1830s, cotton shipments accounted for more than half the value of all exports from the United States. The income generated by this "export sector" was a major impetus for growth not only in the South, but in the rest of the economy as well.  All regions benefited from the South's concentration on cotton production. Northern merchants gained from Southern demands for shipping cotton to markets abroad, and from the demand by Southerners for Northern and imported consumption goods. The low price of raw cotton produced by slave labor in the American South enabled textile manufacturers -- both in the United States and in Britain -- to expand production and provide benefits to consumers through a declining cost of textile products. As manufacturing of all kinds expanded at home and abroad, the need for food in cities created markets for foodstuffs that could be produced in the areas north of the Ohio River. And the primary force at work was the economic stimulus from the export of Southern Cotton.

They didn't call it "King Cotton" for nothing.

The destruction of slavery meant that the entire Southern economy had to be rebuilt. This turned out to be a monumental task; far larger than anyone at the time imagined. Southerners bore a disproportionate share of those costs and the burden persisted long after the war had ended.  It's not as simple as "not being able to function" without slavery.

[Jason]

Excellent post Aaronious.  I should have expanded my comment to state that the north is seemingly growing at a rate that is slowly dwindling over time.  I'm pretty sure that the growth rate for many NE states was a bit higher during the last census, and even higher before that.

Nonetheless, a 2% growth rate in a state with over 19 million is still a lot of people.  The same goes for Texas who has added almost 5 million!

And your're right, the quality of the workforce is much more important than quantity.  Guess that's why the south tends to be hurting more in the current economy.

[AaroniusLives]

Actually Aaronious, Its only been 140 years since the Civil War.  Thats not quite two lifetimes.  There are plenty of us with grandparents who remembered the War and who passed down the stories.  There were plenty more who remembered the extreme poverty that descended on the south afterwards.

Wow, I'd like your genetics! 'Cause either you or your grandparents are insanely old. My great-grandmother made it until 1983...and she could tell me a lot of stories about the olden days...but not the CIVIL WAR, as she wasn't even a zygote yet!

[Dog Walker]

Got to be careful looking at "Rates of Growth" or "Percentages" of growth without having access to the actual numbers.  New York could have added more people than Florida, but because it is more populous in the first place the rate of growth would be lower when expressed as a percentage.

Wyoming has 600,000 people.  If 600,000 people moved there in a decade it would have 100% growth rate.  If another 600,000 people moved there in the next decade the growth rate would be (takes off shoes)  would "fall" to 50%.  "Oh horrors, our growth is slowing!"

"The US is having it's slowest rate of growth in 70 years!"   Well, duh.  70 years ago we had 130 million people.  Now we have 300 million.