ARIZONA, KEEP YOUR RAINBOW SHADES ON

ARIZONA, PUT ON YOUR RAINBOW SHADES[i]

Arizona is the 17th largest state in the Union, with almost 6 million people. (2005) It dwarfs its neighbors Utah and New Mexico, but is overshadowed by California to the west.

Arizona has an extremely high rate of population growth, jumping from the 20th largest state by population in the year 2000 to the 17th largest in 2005. Arizona was the second fastest growing state in the 1990s. The Phoenix metropolitan area increased by 45% from 1990 to 2000.

Readers familiar with the Phoenix community know that it is a sprawling growth center, devouring vast amounts of land and turning one-stoplight towns on its periphery into mega commute exurbs.

SUN CITY, OLD FOLKS

Arizona is a retirement mecca with the Del Webb communities pioneering the large retirement community complexes. The presence of these retirees requires that Arizona devote a good portion of its healthcare resources to senior care. This large senior population will also make great demands on the state’s Medicaid system as it pays for nursing home care for the large senior population.

LOTS OF KIDS, TOO

In 2003 the number of Hispanic births overtook the number of white non-Hispanic births. This change in birthrates means that Arizona is predicted to become a “Majority-Minority”[ii] state in 2035, Currently, California, Texas, New Mexico and Hawaii are “Majority-Minority” states[iii].

LOTS OF BIGOTS ON THE BORDER

Arizona is also the center of activity for the so-called “Minutemen”, vigilantes that wish to halt “illegal immigration”, or Mexicans from migrating north to work at low-wage jobs. “Illegal Immigration”, or “Economic Relocation” as movement between the borders should more properly be called, is an economic fact. It is a central foreign policy accomodation between the US and Mexico. Wages earned by Mexican workers are sent back to Mexico. Both countries benefit, but bigotry and American Nativism run deep in this land of immigrants in denial. And it is doubtful that the Immigration Bill under current dabate will resolve many immigration issues. Immigration opponents announce the bill as providing "amnesty" for immigrants, despite the burdensome road that is the "path towards citizenship.'

ARIZONA, HAVE ANOTHER LOOK AT YOUR WORLD

The Arizona state government is the largest employer in the state, followed by Wal-Mart. And according to an Arizona State Department of Commerce report, cited in the Arizona Wikopedia entry, Arizona lost much of its comparative advantage as a high-tech industry leader from 1990 through 2001.[iv] Sound familiar? Sound like anyplace that you might live?

In 28 years, whites will be a minority in Arizona. It will be a state of color and the largest population group will be Hispanic. It will be, as a practical matter, a bilingual state, just as America will be a bi-lingual country. And Arizona will have lots of retirees drawing Social Security benefits and other government benefits. Retirees will demand their “due”. Younger workers may not want to pay. But the situation must be resolved and each group needs the other.

This is the world America is moving into. From about 2020 through about 2060, America faces a retirement and healthcare funding crisis. This crisis needs Mexican immigrants to have any hope of funding this retirement shortfall.

America’s future can be seen in the present trajectory of Arizona. A diverse multiculture bearing huge burdens to finance healthcare and pensions for its elderly.

AMERICA, HAVE ANOTHER LOOK AT YOUR WORLD!

NEW CONTEST IN THE DESERT OF THE REAL!

Wednesday, May 23rd is the official day to recognize a common reptile order. Within this order are approximately 300 species. They have been on this planet since the Triassic period, about 215 million years.

So the question is, what reptile order is honored on May 23rd. Same prize as always. The winner can choose from a ticket and a soda at the Guild Cinema in Albuquerque, a plate of the best huevos rancheros in Albuquerque at the Central Avenue Village Inn, or a gift certificate for $10.00 at a restaurant of the winner’s choice, anywhere in the USA. Email your responses to: desertoftherealeconomics@hotmail.com.

[i] A paraphrase of a lyric from “Arizona”, a song by former Paul Revere and the Raiders bandsman Mark Lindsay. Other paragraph headers may use lyrics from this song.
[ii] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minority-majority. This appellation basically means that there are more non-Whites than whites. The Author uses these terms only to illustrate the changes in population and demographics. The Author does not fundamentally recognize the concept of race among and across human beings. Human beings from certain areas of the world have some small genetic differences due to the effects of evolution, climate and other conditions. But the term “race” is a construct, used to separate and divide humans.
[iii] By contrast, more rural states such as North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine are not projected to experience such a change for centuries, if ever. Of course, if the majority of the U.S. population becomes Hispanic (for example), then it is those more rural states which will become majority-minority states, as their white majority will be at odds with the non-white national norm. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minority-majority.
[iv] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona