by D.G. Martin

CHAPEL HILL ó About four million people.

That is the answer. Now, here is the question: How many people lived in North Carolina when my family moved here about 1950?

Here is another question that has the same answer: How much did North Carolinaís population grow between 1950 and 2000?

Still another: How much will it grow between 2000 and 2030?

To summarize, North Carolinaís population, actual or projected by year:
1950: 4,061,929
2000: 8,049,313
2030: 12,227,739

Putting it another way, North Carolina has twice as many people living here than it did when I moved here. And in 2030, it will have three times as many.

Now for a harder question, one that I bet you will not be able to answer with a simple yes or no: Is all this growth a good thing for North Carolina and the people who live here now?
So, what is your answer?

Maybe you say yes, thinking about the economic benefits that have come with increasing population. More and better-paying job opportunities for us and our children. More people to share the costs of government. A wider variety of activities to enrich our lives.

Or, maybe you start with a no, citing crowded roads and schools, along with overtaxed public facilities and the strains on water supply and waste water treatment capability. Meanwhile, your beloved farms and forests disappear as bulldozers prepare places for our new neighbors to live.
Whether or not you think growth is good or not, it is here. We are in the middle of it. And we ought to make the best of it. We ought to do the things now to minimize growth pains and maximize the advantages that growth can bring.

What should our state be doing to get ready for the new four million people of 2030?

Someone suggested that our first step should be to admit that we are already behind.† For example, he pointed out:

ï There are more than 100 communities across this state that are under some type of water and sewer moratorium.† Those communities will have a harder time getting their fair share of new business investment. The health of many in those communities is under constant threat.

ï We have hundreds of thousands of our children in trailers and not classrooms.† In a world where education is critical to progress for the coming generations, we still lag far behind other states in the investment we are making in our K-12 schools.

ï Funding has not matched skyrocketing road construction costs, pushing back transportation projects, causing delivery delays and commuter crunches, and endangering lives.

ï Land for forests, farms, and natural areas that are so important to our quality of life and economy disappear to the tune of 100,000 acres annually.† To cope with rapid growth, several communities have passed moratoria or increased impact fees. If no additional funds are created for infrastructure, those moratoria will become more commonplace.

ï We have 2 million people living in sub-standard housing or housing they canít afford.
So, whatís to be done?

The North Carolina General Assembly has the opportunity to take a giant step right now. It has before it a proposal to create an infrastructure fund to pay for a package of ìBonds for Progressî that includes $2 billion for schools; $1 billion for land and water conservation; $1 billion for water and sewer; $1 billion for roads and $250 million for the Housing Trust Fund.

Borrowing such large amounts of money is controversial, and it ought to be. But borrowing to prepare for growth is often the most prudent way to address this challenge. And bond financing would allow those new North Carolinians who will be joining us between now and 2030 to help the rest of us shoulder the expense of getting ready for them.

Letís hope our legislators will give careful consideration to the ìBonds for Progressî proposal, and adopt it, unless they can come up with a better way for us to get ready for....

Remember that answer!
....Four Million people.

ï
D.G. Martin is the host of UNC-TVís North Carolina Bookwatch, which airs Fridays at 9:30 p.m. and Sundays at 5 p.m. www.unctv.org/ncbookwatch/. Check his blog and view prior programs at www.unctv.org/ncbookwatch/.