[actinic]

Big consequences to all facets including a 22% decline in high school grads projected by 2020. The comments made by educators to try to make a positive spin out of the facts are amusing.

Census 2010 shows Michigan's population of children dropped by 250,000 | MLive.com

Of course it's all Ric Snyder's fault.

[Retroit]

I'm not an educator, but I'd like to put a positive spin on it. How about the fact that wealth and birth rates are (largely) inversely proportional. (List of sovereign states and dependent territories by birth rate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) Last I checked, there was no shortage of people on this planet. And people don't exactly come to Michigan because they want to get away from all the unspoiled natural beauty elsewhere. I look at declining population as a good thing (as long as it's not from disasters/epidemics and as long as we can return abandoned areas back to nature). I don't know anyone going to Bangladesh to go see all the people.

[ForStarters]

Michigan needs young people (productive taxpayers) to support the cost of the aging population and the state's enormous infrastructure costs. We need the energy and contributions of young people in business and industry and to maintain the depth of our society's knowledge and talent base.

Other states are attracting young people of child-bearing age from Michigan. Chicago alone has siphoned off probably a hundred thousand young, native Michigan college graduates over the last 10 years. Unless the state starts paying more attention to young people, it's going to have financial problems down the line.

[Retroit]

Originally Posted by ForStarters

Michigan needs young people (productive taxpayers) to support the cost of the aging population ...maybe the real problem is that we've let the costs of the aging population rise too much (with: 1. entitlements that kick in at a relatively young age in a population with rising life expectancies, 2. pensions that are dependent upon a workforce that is inevitably diminishing due to technology/productivity advancement, 3. practically unlimited health care, 4. "senior centers" where they can whittle their time away in idle leisure, 5. etc.)...and the state's enormous infrastructure costs....as population decrease, infrastructure can be decommissioned (similar to Bing's downsizing plan)... We need the energy and contributions of young people in business and industry and to maintain the depth of our society's knowledge and talent base.

Other states are attracting young people of child-bearing age from Michigan. Chicago alone has siphoned off probably a hundred thousand young, native Michigan college graduates over the last 10 years. Unless the state starts paying more attention to young people, it's going to have financial problems down the line.

That's true to some extent. We wouldn't want every young person to leave, but a decline is not necessarily catastrophic. Chicago and all the other areas that people are moving to will have to face the consequences of growing populations. Growth is not as inconsequential as people think.

Unfortunately, the young people that will eventually become old people will be a burden upon people not even born yet, so we really don't solve the problem. We are only creating a bigger problem for future generations. Ever hear of a "Ponzi Scheme"? We need to fix the problem of entitlement mentality that caused the problem of lack of money.

[Coldjensens]

Ahh. teenagers are basically idiots anyway. Let them leave. However we need to make them come back when they get a little older.

[EastBoundandDownChick]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

Ahh. teenagers are basically idiots anyway. Let them leave. However we need to make them come back when they get a little older.

Wow, lol. Just wow.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

Ahh. teenagers are basically idiots anyway. Let them leave. However we need to make them come back when they get a little older.

True dat.

[malamute]

Originally Posted by ForStarters

Michigan needs young people (productive taxpayers) to support the cost of the aging population and the state's enormous infrastructure costs. We need the energy and contributions of young people in business and industry and to maintain the depth of our society's knowledge and talent base.

Other states are attracting young people of child-bearing age from Michigan. Chicago alone has siphoned off probably a hundred thousand young, native Michigan college graduates over the last 10 years. Unless the state starts paying more attention to young people, it's going to have financial problems down the line.

If and only if they aren't growing up on welfare handouts which generally leads them to become the next generation of welfare recipients.

High birth rates haven't done third world countries any good either.

[malamute]

Originally Posted by Retroit

That's true to some extent. We wouldn't want every young person to leave, but a decline is not necessarily catastrophic. Chicago and all the other areas that people are moving to will have to face the consequences of growing populations. Growth is not as inconsequential as people think.

Unfortunately, the young people that will eventually become old people will be a burden upon people not even born yet, so we really don't solve the problem. We are only creating a bigger problem for future generations. Ever hear of a "Ponzi Scheme"? We need to fix the problem of entitlement mentality that caused the problem of lack of money.

Yes, compare a third world country with many European nations and it's obvious that the Europeans with their lower birth rates are doing better.

Older people not burdened with sky high school taxes and the high costs of Medicaid can better take care of themselves, have more of their money for their own needs including health care.

With globalism and the export of jobs, there will be no jobs for many people, no reason to have a whole lot more people if jobs are just to be exported.

[Bhaalspawn]

Could part of it just be that the low point in the number of births per year is entering their teen years? You can't always have a Baby Boom.