OPINION:
I was trying to determine the other day when U.S. Census takers might be in the D.C. region for the centennial head count.
However, as occasionally happens when searching Google, a startling headline grabbed my attention after I entered the words “census facts” and clicked on a website. “Census estimates reveal blues for many blue states,” screamed the headline on Oklahoman.com.
Now, keep in mind that Oklahoma is not a blue state, so it can’t lay claim to being a big market for professional sports or to being the birthplace of Motown, Hollywood, casinos or Wall Street; or to being the in place for skiing and surfing, Ivy League universities, and wine and coffee makers. Also, its governor and both U.S. senators are Republicans.
Oklahoma is, well, Oklahoma, flyover country to most Americans and visitors from far-off lands. For further perspective, check a map (or globe, if your home or kids’ school has access to such nondigital information). Oklahoma is the fist-shaped state in south-central United States that looks like its pointy finger is pointed westward.
That’s Oklahoma in a itsy-bitsy nutshell, and that’s why the headline from the editorial board of the state’s largest daily is worthy of attention.
In a way, the first five paragraphs laid out a lighter shade of blue facing the Democratic Party this election year: “The facts and figures generated by the U.S. Census Bureau are often instructive, and that’s certainly true of the bureau’s latest population estimates. They underscore the point that sound fiscal policy matters.
“Forty states saw their populations grow between 2018 and 2019. Ten states lost population during that time, and the list is a who’s who of high-tax, high-regulation, Democrat-controlled states.
“The list comprises, in order, New York (it saw a fourth consecutive annual decrease), Illinois, West Virginia, Louisiana, Connecticut, Mississippi, Hawaii, New Jersey, Alaska and Vermont.
“The Census Bureau also tracks “domestic migration,” the number of people who move from one area of the United States to another. Twenty-seven states and the District of Columbia lost population through net domestic migration.
“Leading the way was California, which lost slightly more than 203,000 residents in this category and, as a result, may lose a congressional seat for the first time.”
Next in the deep-blue line were New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Louisiana, which is purplish.
Now you know why House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had to place the impeachment of President Trump.
States’ pension liabilities, high taxes and bureaucratic red tape were the “beneficiaries” of taxpayer largesse.
So were Texas, Florida, Arizona and other warm-weather states.
“Enacting better public policies that curb the growth of pension liabilities, easing tax burdens, facilitating new business formation and stimulating economic growth are four improvements perfectly capable of turning things around,” the article said.
The “Blue Crew” in Virginia, which began trending from red under Clinton wand-waver Terry McAuliffe, has captured the governorship and both houses of the state legislature.
And there’s so much white noise to tighten gun-control laws Second Amendment supporters held their protestations on Martin Luther King Day — a day to honor an American whose life was snuffed by an assassin’s bullet.
Much of that stage was set by anti-gun billionaire Mike Bloomberg, a Massachusetts native and longtime New Yorker who hopes to beat Mr. Trump, and Mr. McAuliffe and Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, who can’t seek reelection but is liable for political debt.
So, to wrap, yes the census is important as the more bodies “sanctuary” cities and counties claim, the fuller their local and state coffers.
You know what to do to flip the script. Waiting until Tuesday, Nov. 3, might be too late.
⦁ Deborah Simmons can be contacted at dsimmons@washingtontimes.com.
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