Saturday, 27 November 2004
100 Fastest Growing Counties
« Happy Thanksgiving | Main | National Treasure »The LA Times recently carried an article
These families are not the winners of life's lottery. They are thehard working middle class trying to improve the lives of their families.
These are places defined more by aspiration than accumulation, filled morewith families starting out than with those that have already reached theirearnings peak.
...
The high-growth counties are not especially affluent. The median income isabove the national average in 71 of them, but in only about one-fifth areincomes even 50% above the national average. In only 40 of them is thepercentage of college graduates higher than the national average.
Why do the writers of this story seemed so surprised? These are youngparents with new families. They are parents who no longer focus solely onthemselves. They worry more about their health and well being of theirchildren. This shift in priorities causes a change in the decision makingprocess.
- The extra costs of raising children makes them worry more about their financial situation. They start looking at their paychecks and seeing what the government is taking from their families. They understand the need for tax breaks. For them an extra 300 dollars goes a long way.
- They worry about the values that their kids are exposed to in the modern culture. They begin to see the world in a more moral centric way. They do not want their children to have access to the depravity of pop culture that they may have enjoyed when they were single.
- Along with values, the education of their children becomes more important. They see the suburbs providing better schools, and they want their kids to have the best chance to succeed.
There is nothing like children to make people more conservative. Thecontinued growth of the younger middle class will continue to bringfruitful gains for the GOP in future elections.
