Lexington Herald Leader: Lessons For State In Census Data.
Lessons for state in Census data
The outflow of people from rural countryside to cities is nothing new — in Kentucky or worldwide.
What may come as more of a surprise is Kentucky's increasing demographic diversity.
The 2010 Census found a doubling of the state's Hispanic population. The Census also reports those identifying themselves as Asian increased by two-thirds.
There was almost a three-quarters increase in Kentucky residents identifying themselves as two or more races.
Without this growth in minority population, Kentucky might well have found itself in the same boat as Missouri, Ohio and Illinois, losing power in Congress.
While each of those states will lose one or two U.S. House seats to faster-growing states, Kentucky will hold on to all six of its seats. This is in contrast to when Kentucky lost a congressional district after the 1990 Census.
Some kinds of federal aid and grants are allocated based on Census numbers. And a state whose population is stagnant or declining also loses vibrancy in its economy.
So it's good that Kentucky posted modest overall growth of more than 6 percent.
The 2010 Census also underscored the importance of Kentucky's cities as drivers of the whole state's economy. We've known this for quite a while, but state-level policies have yet to catch up with the reality that more and more Kentuckians are living in cities and fast-growing bedroom communities such as those in Scott and Jessamine counties.
The cities and suburbs are the centers of growth.
Yet, the legislature still divvies up transportation money as if farm products, not commuters, are the main things that have to be moved.
High-quality planning and economic development are thwarted by the fragmentation of the state into 120 counties, while Kentucky functions economically as five or six multi-county metropolitan areas. And the state continues to cut funding for higher education, even though universities and their graduates are catalysts for growth.
Meanwhile, in Kentucky's eastern and western coalfields and other rural areas, the outflow of people is bad news for those left behind — and a challenge for policy-makers.
It's hard to stem the tide of history, and young people have always migrated to where there is employment. It's safe to say, though, that if the places that are losing population keep doing what they've been doing, they will only continue to decline.
Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2011/03/22/1680387/lessons-for-state-in-census-data.html#ixzz1HL9a3hLn
The outflow of people from rural countryside to cities is nothing new — in Kentucky or worldwide.
What may come as more of a surprise is Kentucky's increasing demographic diversity.
The 2010 Census found a doubling of the state's Hispanic population. The Census also reports those identifying themselves as Asian increased by two-thirds.
There was almost a three-quarters increase in Kentucky residents identifying themselves as two or more races.
Without this growth in minority population, Kentucky might well have found itself in the same boat as Missouri, Ohio and Illinois, losing power in Congress.
While each of those states will lose one or two U.S. House seats to faster-growing states, Kentucky will hold on to all six of its seats. This is in contrast to when Kentucky lost a congressional district after the 1990 Census.
Some kinds of federal aid and grants are allocated based on Census numbers. And a state whose population is stagnant or declining also loses vibrancy in its economy.
So it's good that Kentucky posted modest overall growth of more than 6 percent.
The 2010 Census also underscored the importance of Kentucky's cities as drivers of the whole state's economy. We've known this for quite a while, but state-level policies have yet to catch up with the reality that more and more Kentuckians are living in cities and fast-growing bedroom communities such as those in Scott and Jessamine counties.
The cities and suburbs are the centers of growth.
Yet, the legislature still divvies up transportation money as if farm products, not commuters, are the main things that have to be moved.
High-quality planning and economic development are thwarted by the fragmentation of the state into 120 counties, while Kentucky functions economically as five or six multi-county metropolitan areas. And the state continues to cut funding for higher education, even though universities and their graduates are catalysts for growth.
Meanwhile, in Kentucky's eastern and western coalfields and other rural areas, the outflow of people is bad news for those left behind — and a challenge for policy-makers.
It's hard to stem the tide of history, and young people have always migrated to where there is employment. It's safe to say, though, that if the places that are losing population keep doing what they've been doing, they will only continue to decline.
Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2011/03/22/1680387/lessons-for-state-in-census-data.html#ixzz1HL9a3hLn
Labels: News reporting
posted by KYJurisDoctor at 9:51 AM
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