Leaders of the Gulf Coast development, a “medical town” called Tradition that houses several healthcare institutions and postsecondary education institutes, released an economic report on the same day that the summit. It counters many governor’s claims about Mississippi’s prosperity and well-being, as well as its outmigration of young people. The Tradition report stated that “When we look at population estimates by age, it is clear that Mississippi is losing people when they would have been entering their prime earning years,” According to the Tradition report, data from the U.S. Census Bureau clearly demonstrates the problem. Mississippi is losing millennials more quickly than any other American state. Between 2010 and 2016, America’s millennials became the largest age group in the country. Mississippi’s millennial population fell by 35,013 people, which is about the same as the population of Tupelo. According to Census data, Mississippi is the only state that has lost millennials so quickly. Bryant repeatedly denied the existence of the problem in Mississippi, citing research done by the National Strategic Planning and Analysis Research Center at Mississippi State University. Bryant wrote, “A reminder since liberal media is all to happy to put bad news onto the front page,” on May 5. He was referring to a Mississippi Today article about brain drain and directing his followers towards an nSPARC report. “Here are facts supported by data that refute the lazy Fake News narrative regarding Mississippi’s population.” “There, they go again. Bryant, again referring to a Mississippi Today article, wrote that Liberals at an Online Democratic Propaganda Machine are misleading Mississippians about the population facts. “Mississippi has a national average in both Millenials and the percentage of college graduates who remain in the state,” Bryant wrote on May 3, referring to a Mississippi Today article. The nSPARC report indicates that Mississippi’s population declines can be attributed to a declining teenage pregnancy rate, a lack of international immigration into the state, and that although millennials are leaving the state, its total population hasn’t fallen. The report states that Mississippi’s total share of the millennial population is close to the national average. This suggests that the state is stable in terms of its millennial population. Bryant spoke with Mississippi Today’s reporter on Thursday about the potential and challenges highlighted in the Tradition report. He also discussed the exodus of young people. Bryant: “I saw the economic impact report of the Tradition Medical Community. Absolutely.” It was amazing. I had the opportunity to look at it yesterday. It’s something we have known for a long time, healthcare is an economic driver. We’ve also seen some numbers from that area of the Mississippi Gulf Coast with lower incomes. The Gulf Coast Business Council may have discussed this. John Hairston, President of Hancock Bank, has produced a great report that shows some income levels on the Gulf Coast may not be as high on a national and even state level. “Tradition is essential to be able meet these higher income levels, especially in the health care sector. It is possible for the community to attract a new nursing school with Gulf Coast Community College. I estimate that there are 900 nurses in the area. A new pharmacy school is also planned. Since the inception of Mississippi, there has been one pharmacy school. We now have another one. The Cleveland Clinic, with its diabetes and obesity research centre, is a new phenomenon that is growing. You’ll see more expansion. I believe there will be 9,000 to 10,000 jobs created in the health care sector and the future. So I’m proud of the work at Tradition.” It’s been difficult looking at Mississippi. Literally, I remind them that there was a Civil War and great floods. On the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Katrina followed by the spill. In the past decade, we have done a remarkable job of overcoming many of these things. 4.7% unemployment. We had a good first month. $10 million more than expected, $39 million left on FY18. Mississippi now has more people working than ever before. “I look at judging Mississippi against Mississippi. It’s difficult to (take) places and I know people love it. So let’s say that Tennessee is a smaller state with 8-9 million inhabitants. We are different. It might be possible to compare us with Kentucky, West Virginia, and Arkansas. So these are the states I believe we are in an area for comparison with, and that we should win.” “No, absolutely not. But we must realize that you should compare Mississippi on a fair, equitable scale. It’s difficult for us to say we should be compared with a Georgia, Tennessee, or Florida if you compare Mississippi to a state with 8-9 million people. We will compete in the region with states with equal populations and similar socio-geographic opportunities. But, I believe that we can be more realistic if we compare ourselves to a decade ago. “What should we do about these issues? The poverty? Do you find outmigration particularly concerning? Talking to experts in the field, I learned that we have fewer births than we used to, especially in teens. Teen pregnancy has fallen by 26 percent. You can see that there are fewer people migrating from South America and Mexico than you would find in other states. We will need to keep improving on what we have done. You’ll need to see the 80 percent graduation rate in our high school. These are significant improvements over what was available. We saw the testing of a new propulsion device for Aerojet Rocketdyne just the other day, which was a testament to the state’s research universities and the rise of technology industries. Five different aerospace companies were represented by me at Stennis space center. We go out every day to make Mississippi better than yesterday.” To continue this important work, you can support this work by making a regular donation today to celebrate our Spring Member Drive.