Sam Brownback's Kansas

Did you see the latest results of Republican Governor of Kansas Sam Brownback's and his cohorts handiwork?  It's a real beauty:

Census shows more people leaving Kansas

A bit from the article:

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - New census figures show that more people have been moving out of Kansas than have been moving in recently.

From 2010 to 2013, Kansas lost 10,197 people because of outward migration, according to numbers released Thursday by the Census Bureau. The census also showed that Kansas gained 16,752 people from international migration over the last four years, but lost 26,949 to other states, which resulted in the net 10,197 loss.

From 2000 to 2009, Kansas had a net migration loss of 17,574, with most of it occurring from 2001 to 2005, when Kansas had a net loss of more than 27,000 people.

As if that isn't bad enough, it really does get worse:
As if Kansas was among the bottom 10 states in the number of people who moved in from other states compared with the number who moved out during the 12 months ending July 1, 2013. Kansas ended the year with a net loss of 12,557.
Now, sure, the people leaving very rural, nearly empty Kansas isn't completely, totally due to the results of the Republican work of slashing the taxes of the already-wealthy and heaping those taxes, instead, on the middle- and lower-classes but one thing's for sure, it surely isn't helping. It isn't helping the workers and working class people of the state, it hasn't helped businesses increase and/or expand in the state and it surely hasn't helped the budget of the state or of their schools.

Not only that but it's not expected to get any better any time soon, according to the Lawrence paper:

Study: Kansas' population to drop more | CJOnline.com

 

WICHITA — A decades-long decline in population is likely to continue in Kansas, particularly in the west of the state, and four counties could have fewer than 1,000 residents by 2040, according to a study by Wichita State University’s Center for Economic Development and Business Research.

 

All I can say is, Paul Davis can't become governor soon enough.

 

 



Washington better be working on jobs

News out today: Nearly 1 in 6 Americans in poverty, Census says WASHINGTON (AP) — The ranks of the nation's poor have swelled to a record 46.2 million — nearly 1 in 6 Americans — as the prolonged pain of the recession leaves millions still struggling and out of work. And the number without health insurance has reached 49.9 million, the most in over two decades. Regardless of who is in the White House, regardless of the political party, we need a good, effective, intelligent jobs bill and we need it as soon as possible. Anyone who gets in the way should have to pay for that obstruction, one way or another (but only politically). Link: http://news.yahoo.com/nearly-1-6-americans-poverty-census-says-184424635.html

Missouri Census Information out next week

News out today: "Next week, the U.S. Census Bureau will release the 2010 Census Summary File 1 for Idaho, Missouri, Ohio, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin. During June through August, the Census Bureau will provide statistics for states each week on a flow basis. These Summary File 1 tables will provide the most detailed information available so far from the 2010 Census, including cross-tabulations of age, sex, households, families, relationship to householder, characteristics of owners and renters, detailed race and Hispanic or Latino origin groups, and group quarters. The Summary File will be available for each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The information will be available for a variety of geographic areas, with most tables available down to the block or census tract level." 'Cuz I knew you'd want to know. Link: http://news.yahoo.com/census-bureau-release-2010-census-summary-file-1-181605257.html;_ylt=AidmhbBCT4rzB7skqCWpKN.w73QA;_ylu=X3oDMTN1Z3U3bWphBGNjb2RlA3ZzaGFyZWFnMnVwcmVzdARwa2cDOGNkYjU5OWEtNjBiMS0zNDQ5LThmZWUtMjQ1NzU4OTQxN2MwBHBvcwM2BHNlYwNuZXdzX2Zvcl95b3UEdmVyAzJhZTY1ODEwLWIyMzMtMTFlMC1hYjM1LTIxMDIzYWVkOGI5Yw--;_ylg=X3oDMTJyM2YwOTZoBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDMTQwZmMwNTYtZTQ1OS0zYTMwLWFjMjItYmFiMzFlY2M5M2YzBHBzdGNhdANidXNpbmVzcwRwdANzdG9yeXBhZ2U-;_ylv=3

People will be flipping out about this

In the news today: Census shows whites lose US majority among babies: From the article: "WASHINGTON – For the first time, more than half of the children under age 2 in the U.S. are minorities, part of a sweeping race change and a growing age divide between mostly white, older Americans and fast-growing younger ethnic populations that could reshape government policies. I can almost hear the racists and rednecks now, can't you? Link to original article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110623/ap_on_go_ot/us_census_white_minority

Kansas: one of the shrinking states

New census data came out yesterday and part of it showed bad news for the state of Kansas:


According to newly released census data, Americans are fleeing the Great Plains for sunnier climes in record numbers, the decades-long trend only accelerating in the 21st century.


The data, as mapped by the site New Geography, shows that North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas all had more counties with total population decreases than increases between 2000 and 2010. 


The growers?  The states that are adding population?  They are:  The metro areas that grew the fastest were all in the west or south.


No surprise.


More Kansas data:


The data also offer information about changes in America's racial makeup. Many of the counties that saw the largest increases in their Hispanic populations were in traditional Hispanic strongholds, including southern California, Arizona, and south Florida. But others were more surprising: Counties in eastern Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Kansas, and Oklahoma all saw an influx of Hispanics, reflecting a trend over the last decade in which many recent Latino immigrants have spread beyond urban centers like Los Angeles and Phoenix into more rural parts of the country.


Yeah, get over it.  Don't be a racist hater.


Interesting stuff.


Now, if you're Kansas Governor Sam Brownback right now, what do you do, if anything, to see to it your state's population doesn't continue to sharply decrease?


Danged if I'd know.


I guess I'd harp on that "more jobs", thing.


I sure wouldn't try to destroy the Arts Commission.  If you don't have a state Arts Commission to help make the state more appealing, jobs alone isn't going to do it.


And the more beauty they can add to Kansas, the better.


In fact, one of the best things, I think, Kansas may have going for it, annually, that might attract more people to the state is the annual "Symphony in the Hills" when the Kansas City Symphony plays in the Flint Hills, smack dab in the middle of Kansas.


So much for that "killing the arts" idea, eh, Governor?


Link:  http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110330/ts_yblog_thelookout/new-census-data-shows-which-areas-of-america-are-growing-shrinking

Who have we become?

Have you heard or read about the 51-year-old, part-time Federal Census worker who was found dead in Kentucky?

The fact is, it hasn't been announced if he was, in fact, hung and so, was asphyxiated or if he committed suicide or what yet so we shouldn't get to conclusions yet.

It just doesn't sound good at all.

It was reported in the Associated Press yesterday that he had "Fed" written on him somewhere. Again, it's insubstantiated, to date.

But if this does turn out that this man was killed--hung, it's said--for being a Federal worker and employee, what does that say about us?

I thought, as I think most people would, that we grew beyond this kind of act.

A Federal employee killed for being just that?

Forget that he was a part-time teacher and Eagle Scout. Let's just focus on this employment.

Sure, a lot of us are extremely upset to one degree or another, about the state of our economy and the state of politics in the country and our health care and representation out of Washington--all kinds of things.

But didn't we get more educated and sophisticated enough that we should--all of us--be beyond this kind of thing?

And sure, it's an isolated incident and yes, "things happen"--there's kooky people all over the place--but when you see this kind of thing happen, along with an upswing of 400% in threats to the President, tied to the existence of a poll on whether or not the current President should be killed, posted on Facebook, it makes me wonder.

I still go back to the idea that the Republicans doing away with the "Fairness Doctrine" in our media several years ago did the country a great injustice and has negatively and severely polarized the country, quite possibly laying groundwork for some of the worst, most extreme thoughts and actions.

I hope we are, in fact, better than all this as a people and a country.

Links: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/federal-eye/2009/09/census_bureau_died_of_asphyxia.html
http://features.csmonitor.com/globalnews/2009/09/29/kill-obama-facebook-poll-latest-sign-of-healthcare-anger/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fairness_Doctrine