We're Still Losing People

Michigan was one of three states which experienced a population drop between April of 2010 and July of 2011. It doesn't seem much, about 0.1%. Yet it raises questions about the direction we're heading.

It appears to be a larger proportional drop than what happened between the 2000 and 2010 Census readings, which showed Michigan losing about 55,000 residents. So long as our numbers keep dropping, it makes us wonder what perception the rest of the country might have for our state, or even what Michigan citizens themselves think about Michigan. It might open eyes to note that that drop of 0.1% equals around 7,000 people. That rate, if it continues, would result in a larger population loss between 2010 and 2020 than in the prior Census period.

If people are still leaving, then we still haven't gotten back to the point where there's enough here to merit staying. Similarly, if people aren't moving in, then we aren't where we need to be in order to attract them.

Michigan has always been a bit off the beaten path. When the nation was expanding many settlers blew by us, preferring to move more directly west. That's why so many states farther west than Michigan became states ahead of us. Part of the trouble then was the perception that Michigan was little more than a swampland. How was that overcome? The discovery of copper, the logging industry, and more recently, the automotive industry. What do all those have in common? They are single industries.

And that's where Michigan needs to improve. We need a diverse economy. We've needed it for a long time. We cannot be so dependent on any one thing. To be sure, there have been efforts to do this, and they have borne fruit. But we're clearly behind the curve, and have some catching up to do.

The Battle Begins

Now that the US Census Bureau has issued its report, the fight is surely on. As reported here a couple of days ago, with Republicans gaining in ares where they are strong and in control of most state governments, the main advantages appear to be theirs.

Still, the Democrats have some devices of their own. They will almost certainly employ the courts, as also mentioned before herein, and have a few things in their favor under current federal law. Various laws regarding minority representation in Congress will likely help them keep a few seats. No matter how you slice it, the fight will be long, shrill, and raucous.

The shame of the whole enterprise is that it shouldn't matter all that much. If everyone were to play fair, the lines would be drawn almost randomly according to a roughly equal measure of the population. That is, of course, a dream scenario. It will never happen regardless of who holds power. But the further and worst part of the effort is that it shouldn't matter because the national government shouldn't be so strong. If we were to have kept to our original Constitutional ideal, redistricting would not matter as much precisely because so much less power would be at stake. If there weren't so many spoils to divide, if longevity in the Congress didn't mean so much in terms of patronage and the ability to get more and greater goodies for your own state (hardly, in the end, a commendable position), then all of these gyrations would nearly laughable.

Yet they are not. That is perhaps the most significant commentary about the situation. We have come to accept that it's about what we can get for ourselves, whether as states or individuals. And that is truly sad.

Camelot has passed by. We no longer seek the ideal but the selfish. That's what's really wrong with America today.