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With all of the growth area like DFW, Houston and Atlanta have seen, what toll has it taken on those areas? How has traffic changed? How have cities and towns dealt with the large uptick in population and schools? How are resources handling this? It would be interesting to hear from someone who is from say Houston and lived there their whole life on if the influx of people has been good or bad for the area as a whole.
Not everywhere in the South is growing that fast. The fast-growing Southern states are Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Texas. Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama are all growing slower than the United States at large. Furthermore, there are areas of decline even in the fast-growing states, with the possible exception of Florida. The Appalachian regions of Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee are all slow-growing or declining, and so is much of the Piedmont region of Virginia, the coastal plains of North Carolina, and the Mississippi Delta region of Tennessee. In Georgia, the small metropolitan areas of Rome, Macon, Albany and Valdosta are all losing population. In Texas, almost all the growth is in the Dallas/Houston/San Antonio triangle.
Basically, what I'm trying to say is that a rising tide doesn't appear to lift all boats after all. If tax codes and labor laws were the alpha and omega of economic growth, then Massachusetts and Minnesota wouldn't have more robust economies than Mississippi and Alabama. Human capital seems to matter more than anything, and the South lags in that regard. Not that there is no human capital, just that the South doesn't produce it at the rate that the Northeast and Midwest do. Southern states need to invest in education more, but therein lies the rub: In order to do that, tax rates would need to increase to some degree, which would offset one of the advantages the South has over the Northeast and Midwest. Granted, some of the money that Northern states "invest" in education is wasted on extraneous stuff that has little or nothing to do with actual education, but many Southern states get what they pay for in terms of education: not enough. There has to be a middle ground somewhere.
Thank you for adding some thoughtful analysis to the discussion, particularly in terms of how growth/decline definitely is not uniform by region across this country, despite how it is portrayed ad nauseam in the media. There are many, many nuances to growth in terms of why it occurs. The vast majority of it comes down to different birth rates, not domestic migration that we tend to obsess over.
I think we also need to give some sincere thought to whether growth is actually a good thing for many cities. The fact of the matter is, not all growth is created equal with regard to how it contributes to a city/region. Also, population growth is not necessarily tied to economic growth. In fact, slow population growth cities/regions like Cleveland, Detroit and Pittsburgh are increasing their GDP at rates that often match those of much faster population growth cities. This is due to industry mix in a given region, which can create wealth/jobs more efficiently. Conversely, if an area's growth is being driven heavily by an under-educated population with little wealth, it can definitely begin to have a negative economic impact on an area.
As Craziaskowboi alluded to, many higher cost-of-living states are higher cost precisely because of the public investments they have made in things like education, safety, infrastructure, etc. And those states that have made more robust investments in education definitely reap the benefits of a more highly-educated workforce, which in turn drives economic growth in very desirable industries.
The idea that all states need to adopt something like right-to-work legislation and implement tax breaks (read: corporate welfare) or face decline is simply a false, right-wing constructed dichotomy.
That is just absolutely false. Austin, Texas, has the highest expansion of tech sectors jobs anywhere in the nation from 2004 to 2014, and one of the highest areas for STEM ( science, technology, engineering and mathematics), job growth rates in the country . Raleigh, (Research triangle area) actually has the highest increase in STEM jobs from 2004-14 Arlington Virginia and Plano Texas are always are at the top 3 for the nations school systems as well
Houston, Atlanta, Nashville, Dallas,Jacksonville ,Northern Virginia, are all in the top areas for STEM job growth as well. I just dont think the sun belt from virginia to texas to San jose, Seattle,Salt Lake have the types of unions and bad government you see up here. The government and business climate in the "north" is just awful in my opinion
You're talking about a handful of cities, and I'm talking about the entire region. It's literally apples and oranges. Yes, some cities in the South are doing spectacularly, by some metrics. And some cities in the North suck. But if we're comparing one region of the country to another (as the OP was), I stand by my original post.
Not everywhere in the South is growing that fast. The fast-growing Southern states are Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Texas. Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama are all growing slower than the United States at large. Furthermore, there are areas of decline even in the fast-growing states, with the possible exception of Florida. The Appalachian regions of Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee are all slow-growing or declining, and so is much of the Piedmont region of Virginia, the coastal plains of North Carolina, and the Mississippi Delta region of Tennessee. In Georgia, the small metropolitan areas of Rome, Macon, Albany and Valdosta are all losing population. In Texas, almost all the growth is in the Dallas/Houston/San Antonio triangle.
Basically, what I'm trying to say is that a rising tide doesn't appear to lift all boats after all. If tax codes and labor laws were the alpha and omega of economic growth, then Massachusetts and Minnesota wouldn't have more robust economies than Mississippi and Alabama. Human capital seems to matter more than anything, and the South lags in that regard. Not that there is no human capital, just that the South doesn't produce it at the rate that the Northeast and Midwest do. Southern states need to invest in education more, but therein lies the rub: In order to do that, tax rates would need to increase to some degree, which would offset one of the advantages the South has over the Northeast and Midwest. Granted, some of the money that Northern states "invest" in education is wasted on extraneous stuff that has little or nothing to do with actual education, but many Southern states get what they pay for in terms of education: not enough. There has to be a middle ground somewhere.
I'll add that human capital also isn't uniform across regions either. While you allude to it briefly, I think it's important to realize that there are several Southern metros that actually lead in human capital via-a-vis other metros in the nation.
Another dynamic to this issue is beyond creation of the human capital; it's about attracting and retaining the human capital. If you are creating human capital and then losing it to another metro or state, something is seriously wrong.
Human capital?? I didn't realize humans could be owned?
I just looked it up and there is such a thing as "human capital." I had never heard that term used before. I find the term offensive. I feel it is a dehumanizing term. We are not robots. Humans have a soul and should be considered as more than their use to a company. If you look at humans that way, no wonder you are losing to the South. Who would want to live in a state where they are referred to as "human capital?"
It is not very nice to say this but sometimes I wish Northerners would keep your ideas up there and let us live our peaceful lives in the South. I don't want to live around people who only value a persons education or ability. All of us are here for a reason and we are valuable just as human beings. Life is more than money or business.
Human capital?? I didn't realize humans could be owned?
I just looked it up and there is such a thing as "human capital." I had never heard that term used before. I find the term offensive. I feel it is a dehumanizing term. We are not robots. Humans have a soul and should be considered as more than their use to a company. If you look at humans that way, no wonder you are losing to the South. Who would want to live in a state where they are referred to as "human capital?"
It is not very nice to say this but sometimes I wish Northerners would keep your ideas up there and let us live our peaceful lives in the South. I don't want to live around people who only value a persons education or ability. All of us are here for a reason and we are valuable just as human beings. Life is more than money or business.
Human capital?? I didn't realize humans could be owned?
I just looked it up and there is such a thing as "human capital." I had never heard that term used before. I find the term offensive. I feel it is a dehumanizing term. We are not robots. Humans have a soul and should be considered as more than their use to a company. If you look at humans that way, no wonder you are losing to the South. Who would want to live in a state where they are referred to as "human capital?"
It is not very nice to say this but sometimes I wish Northerners would keep your ideas up there and let us live our peaceful lives in the South. I don't want to live around people who only value a persons education or ability. All of us are here for a reason and we are valuable just as human beings. Life is more than money or business.
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