The bill is sponsored by:
Representatives Mary Ekstrom (D-Fargo), Matt Klein (R-Minot), Frank Wald (R-Dickinson) and Senators JoNell Bakke (D-Grand Forks), Tony Grindberg (R-Fargo), Robert Horne (D-Minot)
The bill reads as follows:
WHEREAS, during the decade before the last decennial census, the population of the state grew by one-half of one percent, which was the smallest relative growth rate of all 50 states; and
WHEREAS, during the early part of this decade, the estimates of the United States Census Bureau indicated that the population of the state declined, and the estimated population of the state remains below the actual population in 2000; and
WHEREAS, three population trends affecting the state–rural depopulation, outmigration of young adults and young families, and an increasing proportion of the elderly–contribute toward a difficulty in businesses meeting workforce needs;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF NORTH DAKOTA, THE SENATE CONCURRING THEREIN:
That the Legislative Council study possible methods of growing North Dakota’s population and increasing the available workforce in the state; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Legislative Council report its findings and recommendations, together with any legislation required to implement the recommendations, to the Sixty-first Legislative Assembly.
Outmigration isn’t a problem that can really be solved through government action. North Dakota’s economy has always been based largely on agriculture. According to the United States Department of Agriculture even as late as 2005 more than half of North Dakota’s population – 340,372 people - lived in the rural areas of the state. The trend, in recent years, has been for this rural population to decrease while the urban populations in the state increase, but the fact that well over half of the state’s citizens live still live out in the country proves just how dependent this state is on agriculture both in the past and present. You can bet that the jobs those citizens in rural communities work are either in agriculture or dependent on serving the needs of those who are working in agriculture.
So what does agriculture have to do with outmigration? Plenty, given that our economy is driven by agriculture.
There have been many advances in the agriculture industry in recent years. Advances in machinery, seeds, fertilizers, growing techniques, weather analysis, etc. have resulted in allowing more land to be farmed with less labor. Even working a small farm thirty or forty years ago took a farmer, his wife, all of his children and often several hired hands. These days - thanks to advances in the science of agriculture, better technology and bigger and better equipment – farmers can work more land with less manpower.
Unfortunately, there is only so much land out there to farm. So while these technological advances have made life easier for farmers they’ve also resulted in driving many people out of the agriculture industry as it now takes fewer people to grow, harvest and transport to market the crops produced on the land. Slowly but surely the number of people employed in agriculture here in North Dakota has shrunk. People have been laid off, but more importantly for the topic at hand many of the agriculture jobs that were available to one generation are no longer available to the next. That next generation has gone elsewhere for jobs. Mostly out of state.
So what can government do to fix that? Nothing, as far as I’m concerned, except cut our taxes so that we citizens have more money to spend and thus create more jobs. But the politicians undoubtedly are salivating at the idea of using outmigration as a reason to spend all sorts of our tax dollars on economic development projects, most of them probably favoring developers and businesses who lobbied this legislators in the first place.
Are people moving out of North Dakota? Yes, though it’s slowed of late. Is it a problem? Sure it is. Is the solution to spend all sorts of tax dollars? No, it isn’t. The solution is to create a more business-friendly economic environment in the state by lowering the tax burden of citizens and businesses.
But I won’t hold my breath waiting for that to happen.