The South Will Rise Again

The Census Bureau projects that in 3 decades, almost 40% of the nation's population will live in the South, with tremendous consequences for the nation's culture and politics. (Registration required for that link, I think...sorry.)

The same census study says that Alabama's population growth isn't expected to keep up with its neighbors, but some people aren't buying it. From today's Huntsville Times:

Carl Ferguson, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama, said the census didn't take into account Alabama's recent growth, especially in its urban areas.

"If we were to put it into neutral and do absolutely nothing else, not pay any attention to our future, these numbers might come to pass and indeed Alabama could well suffer," Ferguson said. "But what we've seen over the course of the last 15 to 20 years is that Alabama isn't going to do that."

Because the bureau looks at past decades to make predictions, it isn't taking into account the most recent growth, Ferguson said.