Seven US states lost population in the year ended July 1. That means that more people moved out (or died) than moved in (or were born there). The states losing population were:
1. California ( –98,798), 2. New York ( –98,178), 3. Michigan ( –87,339), 4. Illinois ( –48,249), 5. Ohio ( –36,278) , 6. New Jersey ( –31,690), 7. Florida ( –31,179).
Of these states, Michigan stands out: It lost .88% of its population, which is the highest proportion of any state. On the other hand, the losses have slowed for both California and New York. Naturally the one that bothers me the most is seeing my home state, Illinois, shrinking.
When I lived in the US, I was vaguely aware of population trends, but since moving to a country in which such statistics make the evening news, I’m a bit more aware. Moving somewhere new can do that to a person—just don’t move from Illinois, K?
4 comments:
The Census next year SHOULDN'T be a political football. But of course, it will. Someone, and I'm too sick (again!) to look for who, was filing a lawsuit that we should have something like 900 members of the House, because the number of people represented by an at-large rep might be 800,000 while a state with 2 reps might be representing only 650,000 each. (The numbers aren't exact, but the principle's intact.)
Boom and bust I guess; it's not long ago EVERYONE was trying to move to my California but I guess continued economic woes have hit hard. I remember much the same thing in the early 90s too...
Roger: That debate over representation has been going on since the Constitution was written, so it's not likely to change anytime soon. I actually think they may have a point: If the US is going to continue to grow in population, there will inevitably be a time in which the size of the House has to be increased. That's not new, either, nor will the HUGE political war that will ensue. It'll make the healthcare "reform" "debate" look like a sedate cotillion.
Nik: You're right, it's all swings and roundabouts. Ironically, were it not for the economic gloom, California would've done worse: Many folks stayed in California rather than sell their houses at a huge loss. In any case, winners and losers constantly trade places, and always have.
I dare say the idea of MORE govt (and more cost of same) will...take a while.
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