The Rise and Decline (and Future Rise) of the Midwest

Below, I report a graph of the share of Congressional Seats that the Midwest has held over the last 200 years.  In the year 1800, the Midwest had a 0% share.  It's share peaked at 36% in 1890 and now stands at 21.6%.  With the 2010 Census coming out, the Midwest is concerned about losing political clout.  The wild non-linear dynamics in this graph highlight how population mobility across regions shapes politics.  But, it also highlights that linear extrapolation is silly when predicting the future.  Climatopolis predicts that this region's share of the nation will grow as climate change impacts coastal cities and South West cities.  Fargo is in this set of states!  There is plenty of land there to build anew.  Join me in purchasing a few acres of land now before the coastal city slickers show up!  Migration and Innovation will help us cope with our hotter future.   I discuss these themes at length in Chapter 7 of Climatopolis.


NY Times Source