IT’S A sad testimony to the political state of affairs when elected leaders shrug their shoulders and advance a remarkable “no can do’’ attitude toward the reality of population loss in Massachusetts.
When Representative Michael Capuano states he doesn’t “think there’s anyone around who has figured out how to stop the population flow to the Southwest,’’ one has to wonder what is the value of these long-term incumbents. These are our representatives who are “particularly well positioned with their committee assignments,’’ as Representative Richard Neal stated with a curiously disconnected implication. If they’re so well positioned why are they not at least expressing the efforts they are making to turn things around? Why are they not speaking of all that must be done to change our current predicament? The state will probably lose a congressional seat because of the population shift.
People leave a state for many reasons. Moves are mostly made to improve personal or economic quality of life. No doubt, at a certain age, the lure of a new beginning in a gentler climate or the proximity to family may require a move.
But many are leaving Massachusetts for the Southwest or Florida or New Hampshire because they believe they cannot achieve or maintain a quality of life in Massachusetts. Perhaps even more concerning than the exodus of longtime residents is the state’s weakening ability to attract and retain new business enterprises and young people who attend college here. After graduation they either cannot find a job or housing or do not see the future potential in the state.
The state’s population grew 2.3 percent from 2000 to 2008, compared with 8 percent nationally. But when the probability of losing a congressional seat is raised, it is within the narrow context of legislative mechanics; the concern about losing electoral clout and a guaranteed reduction of federal financial largesse. Such political realities are important and need to be addressed. But the consideration of state leadership seems directed less to recognizing what has put Massachusetts in this predicament - job losses, taxes, stifling bureaucracy and more - and more to managing the census process so as to manipulate what appears to be guaranteed loss of electoral power and all that goes with it. Perhaps it is the reality in which we now live but it also puts the challenges of the state in stark relief.
Massachusetts has the potential to be the most important economic and social engine in the nation as this new century really gets rolling. If there can be an American Renaissance, let it begin here. We possess unequalled natural resources, arguably the most potent intellectual capital in the world, and a human resolve that embraces the entire spectrum: the yeoman spirit as well as the world-weary cynic, which itself is a virtue that often prevents hubris and catastrophe.
What ails us is not population loss or one less congressional seat. These are merely symptoms. What really ails us are housing issues, lack of jobs, educational legacies that are hurting efforts to educate, unfulfilled attempts at smart regulatory reform, lack of small business assistance, and a lot of other challenges we should be striving to meet.
The good news? If we were a patient at the any of the dozens of world-class health care facilities we have in Massachusetts, the doctor would look at us and say, “You are indeed ill, but your ailments are curable . . . if you work at them.’’
So yes, Representative Capuano, there are indeed people in Massachusetts who can figure out how to stop the population flow to the Southwest. But our elected officials must embrace the challenges and not accept our fate. We do not need hand-wringing and mild disinterest. We need new ideas and new energy, and we must advance them energetically and enthusiastically at every opportunity.
Phil Redo, a Boston resident, is a former local broadcast executive. 
