Tupelo Journal. April 28, 2021.
Editorial: State must address shrinking population
The first round of 2020 Census data can be read as nothing but bad news for Mississippi. We were one of only three states to lose population, a fact only compounded by the strong population growth from the rest of the South.
Mississippi saw a loss of .2% – just more than 6,000 residents – which seems almost negligible on face value. But when you look at the rest of the country, it reveals an alarming reality.
The South region of the United States led the nation in population growth with an increase of 10.2% from 2010. The closest comparison to Mississippi – from population, demographic and economic standpoints – would be Arkansas. It saw a population increase of 3.3%, surpassing Mississippi’s population for the first time in more than 100 years.
Over the next several months, there undoubtedly be a lot of analysis over what has led to the drop in our population. Once we receive demographic and local data in August, we will be able to pinpoint the areas that are growing, those that are losing population and what people are leaving.
However, we already know through other research and studies that Mississippi faces an incredible “brain drain” problem. We lose young people who grow up here or go to college here to other states. And we also know the two main issues that lead to brain drain: a lack of high-skilled jobs and a strong population center attractive to young people.
One huge step toward stopping brain drain and the general population loss would be to focus on creating dense population centers filled with opportunities and attractions for young people and families. Look around the South, and there are plenty of success stories: Little Rock, Memphis, Nashville, Montgomery and Baton Rouge, just to name a few.
Mississippi needs a revitalized Jackson to succeed. And it will take more than Jackson leadership to address the decades of problems that afflict our capital city. State leaders need to make it a priority to find ways to assist Jackson leaders with building a stronger, more vibrant downtown and entertainment district.
And we need to look for other opportunities throughout the state to do the same. Two prime areas are the Gulf Coast and Northeast Mississippi. Look at what individual cities have done in these areas, and then consider how regional investments could help attract better jobs, retain young workers and grow our local populations and economy.
Wedge issues and issues that capture the national conscience may win state leaders political points, but it does absolutely nothing to improve the quality of life or the longterm economic outlook for the state.
Let the Census numbers be a lesson. From it, let us build a plan to address real issues. It will take deliberate action, coalitions of diverse people, consistent effort and patience over time. But working together – state, local, business and community leaders – we can write a new narrative for the future of the Magnolia State.
___
(Columbus) The Dispatch. April 28, 2021.
Editorial: Census shows state is slowly growing more diverse
Every year since the country’s founding, Americans get a snapshot of who we are.
It’s called the U.S. Census and the data found in the 2020 Census, like every Census before it, reveals information that can have both a direct impact on citizens as well as information that lends itself to conjecture and, in some cases, distress depending on how a person sees the world and the people around them.
The impact of the Census can have a tangible effect since state representation in Congress and federal funds are distributed on the basis of population. The electoral college used to select our presidents is based on Congressional representation as well.
Mississippi felt the impact of the Census in a significant way in 2000, when the state’s population count caused its Congressional delegation to shrink from five to four.
While this 2020 Census showed Mississippi’s population has declined since the 2010 Census, the loss of population - roughly 6,000 people - was not enough to lose a seat in Congress. It is unlikely to mean a significant decrease in federal funds that are based on population, either.
Mississippi joined West Virginia and Illinois as the only states to lose population since 2010, for what it’s worth.
But there are some things found in Mississippi’s Census data that may cause either hand-wringing or hope, again depending on your general attitude toward race and what it means.
The most interesting nugget is what has happened with the white population of the state over the past 10 years. The state’s white population decreased by 48,000 - roughly the population of Biloxi, the state’s fourth largest city.
Meanwhile, the population of people of races other than white increased: 20,000 more Blacks, 16,700 more Hispanics, 4,500 more Asians and 11,200 more people of two or more races.
While white residents are still a majority (56 percent), their share of the population has fallen by 2 percent since 2010. The Black population is holding steady at 38 percent.
The biggest increase, by far, is what’s happening with the Hispanic population where numbers have increased by 32 percent. The Hispanic population remains relatively small - 45,300 - but the trend reflects real growth.
Data at the county and city levels will be made available by the Census Bureau this summer.
Bottom line? The data shows that our state may not be growing, but it is growing more diverse.
In a state that still celebrates Confederate Memorial Day as a state holiday and sets aside the entire month of April as Confederate Heritage Month, this may not be welcomed news in some quarters.
But for those who believe a diverse population is something to be embraced and appreciated, it may be viewed as a sign of progress in a state where progress is measured in decades not years.
___
(McComb) Enterprise-Journal. May 2, 2021.
Editorial: High marks for state’s early education program
The most important years of a student’s life are not the last ones but the first ones. It’s in kindergarten and even before that the pattern is set that will determine how a child does in academics for the rest of his or her school years.
Thus, it is good news to see that Mississippi’s limited public school pre-kindergarten program is drawing high marks. The state is one of only six that met all the benchmarks of a national early education research organization’s latest evaluation.
The obvious challenge for Mississippi is to figure out a way to expand this successful program to cover a lot more children than present funding allows.
END
Please read our comment policy before commenting.