If Your State Is Shrinking, Maybe Try Doing Something About It

As it turns out, if more people are dying than being born in your state, that's bad for population growth. Reports this week highlighted projections released by the Ohio Department of Development that show Ohio losing more than 675,000 people by 2050, with 74 of the state's 88 counties losing population.

We could try to offset that natural decline – caused by the aging of the baby boomers and lower fertility rates – by encouraging migration into the state. But in case you haven't noticed, we've been ruled by Republicans for decades who are more interested in loosening gun regulations, teaching Christianity in public schools, rigging electoral maps, and encouraging the development of data centers that drink all our water, eat all our electricity and provide no jobs in the service of an AI technology likely to kill us all with our own stupidity, rather than investing in the state in ways that would make it a more attractive place to live.

The trend lines, they aren't good. But are we going to give up? Gov. Mike DeWine and the rest of his wrecking crew trying to drag us back to the 19th century want us to. Are we going to give them what they want? No, we are not. Fighting is the only way.

Here's a group that likes to fight: Advocates for Ohio's Future, a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition of state and local health, human services and workforce development organizations. AOF describes its mission as promoting "health and human service budget and policy solutions so that all Ohioans live better lives." What a concept.

The fact of the matter is that conditions here aren't likely to meaningfully improve until we replace enough of our current ruling class with politicians interested in the public good rather than shoveling as many public resources as possible to the private interests that support them. That's going to take a while. I hope I get to see it in my lifetime.

Meanwhile, we need fighters. Pick a few groups like AOF and help when you can.