Census Shows People Respond to Incentives

The Census is out. This has major implications in politics, with the GOP netting 6 seats but the more interesting point is that it shows how people respond to incentives. Michigan is the only state to have a decrease in population. They lost enough people where we are reasonably certain people moved away, rather than a stagnant population dying off. Why is this important?

The Michigan economy is terrible. While other states are certainly suffering, they pale in comparison to Michigan. People moved to find jobs and a better life, not in a differnet country, but in a different part of the same country.

Further proof of this is Texas, which saw the greatest population gain. Certainly some percentage of this is from immigration, both legal and illegal. Even subtracting that percentage, however, is becomes abundantly clear that people were moving into Texas. They did this because there were jobs and low taxes. People respond to incentives, but I guess I am just a fool who happens to believe in the laffer curve.