"I couldn't possibly fail to disagree with you less."
23 October 2007Replies hazy, try againThe last page of the Centennial issue of Oklahoma Today (November/December '07) contains some projections for the bicentennial in 2107, utilizing the time-honored SWAG technique. Some of them strike me as being a bit on the low side. For example, I can't envision the state population to be a mere 5,349,192 a hundred years from now; there'll be that many people snarled in traffic on International 35. And surely we'll snag more than six additional Miss Americas between now and then. A few of these numbers, though, seem way high: seventy-four McDonald's in Oklahoma City? What, are they going to put one in every Starbucks? And this one is just upsetting:
Cost of an OU-Texas football ticket in the student section purchased through the OU Athletic Ticket Office: $813.
Versus $95 today. This is an increase of 950 percent, far greater than this:
Cost of resident undergraduate tuition per credit hour at OU, including fees: $440.
Which is up merely fourfold. If any of you are still around in 2107, feel free to dig this out of your personal copy of the Wayback Machine and tell the world how wrong I was. Posted at 7:32 AM to SoonerlandFor example, I can't envision the state population to be a mere 5,349,192 a hundred years from now; there'll be that many people snarled in traffic ...in the drive-thru line at the only one of the... seventy-four McDonald's in Oklahoma City ...that sells actual hot coffee. Posted by: McGehee at 12:55 PM on 23 October 2007In a hundred years, McDonald's will be a whole 'nother animal. Some of them will be robotic, ATM-like food vendors. Others will serve upscale, but 'fast' food in places where you sit down. (Taking a cue from Starbucks there.) McDonald's will also do more of what it already does - run corporate cafeterias and other types of institutionalized food services. And yeah, your state should get more crowded. People live longer, they keep immigrating, therefore there are more of them around. On what did this report base the projection that there would be fewer people? Posted by: Mister Snitch! at 7:35 PM on 24 October 2007Actually, 5.3 million is decidedly higher than the current figure, just under 3.6 million; on the other hand, I expect something closer to six, maybe even seven million. We do have a track record of losing people: the Dust Bowl days produced some serious emigration, and the population didn't return to 1930 Census levels until well into the 1960s. Posted by: CGHill at 8:07 PM on 24 October 2007 |