Population growth: North Carolina can manage growth if we work together

Editorial by Winston-Salem Journal, January 4, 2014.

News from the U.S. Census Bureau that North Carolina is likely to surpass Michigan this year to become the country’s ninth-largest state validates the state’s efforts to attract and create new jobs. But rapid population growth is a double-edged sword, and careful planning and policymaking are necessary to make sure we don’t become another Florida.

The growth boom in Florida throughout the 1970s and 1980s overwhelmed the state’s services and its ability to protect its natural resources, particularly wetlands and sensitive groundwater supplies. Florida has spent decades attempting to reverse the damage.

The Census Bureau said North Carolina gained almost 100,000 people between 2012 and 2013, ranking it 14th in percentage growth and fourth in the actual number of people added, the Journal’s Wesley Young reported. The state’s population of 9,848,060 as of July 1, 2013 keeps it in 10th place in population but within 50,000 of reaching Michigan. If North Carolina’s growth rate – 3.3 percent since the 2010 Census – continues, the state will overtake Michigan this year to become the nation’s ninth-largest state.

“I think part of it is that we have an outstanding reputation for job creation,” Bill McCoy, a consultant with the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute, told the Journal.

With all these people coming in, it’s all the more important that our state keep up its job creation efforts.

McCoy noted another factor in the growth: North Carolina “is a very attractive retirement state.”

The North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research projects the state’s elderly population will double by 2030, rising from 1.1 million to 2.2 million. That’s the effect the Baby Boomer generation, the oldest of whom started turning 65 in 2011, will have on the state. Studies suggest the impact of aging on social services will be significant. And health care costs are expected to rise 20 percent from 2000 to 2030.

North Carolina has a growing reputation as a destination state for retirees, but also for those just looking for a place with abundant natural resources, jobs and a moderate climate. And there’s something else.

“You have the best people in North Carolina,” Brian McGrail told the Journal. McGrail moved his family to Clemmons from Washington, D.C. in 2012 because of the area’s diverse job opportunities. McGrail, who is disabled, said that unlike the Washington area, in North Carolina people offer to help him with his wheelchair, which is mounted on the rear of his car. “Here, every day five people will come and ask if they can help. I don’t need it, but it is nice to be asked. It lets you know the quality of the area you live in.”

We’re delighted by the McGrails’ experience as newcomers to our great state. We’re proud of our hospitality and our welcome mat is out. But as North Carolinians we all have a responsibility to make sure we plan for the growth to come. That means ensuring our lawmakers maintain reasonable environmental protection laws, regulate development responsibly, plan for transportation needs and ensure our seniors have the services they need to live comfortably.

We can do this without breaking the bank. We can keep taxes fair and reasonable and pay for the services that are essential to manage growth – if we plan carefully and work together.