"Measure 3" was on the referendum in North Dakota yesterday. Supporters called it the "Youth Initiative." Measure 3 would have provided up to $5,000 in income tax credits over five years to people age 21 to 29 who live and work in the state. North Dakotans in that age group also would have qualified for $5,000 in student loan repayments, spread over five years, if they graduated from an accredited two- or four-year school.
The measure was promoted as a way to help curb the state's outmigration problem, especially in the age group North Dakota is desperately trying to keep. During the past decade, the number of adults in North Dakota between the ages of 20 and 34 fell 16 percent, from 151,888 in 1990 to 127,390 last year. Nationally, the number of people of that age group declined 8 percent.
The cost of M3 would have been at least $55M. And here's the last number: voters said "No" to M3 by a 67/33 margin.
Congratulations to North Dakotans who realized that you can't subsidize a talent shortage. (If only our corporations would get this message.) Although M3 raised the issue of the youth outmigration problem, it failed to address the root cause: many young talent – from inside and outside of North Dakota – perceive a lack of opportunities and amenities within the state.
M3 didn't make sense for North Dakota. It doesn't make sense for your community, either. You can't pay talent to stay in your community. A true "Youth Initiative" would invest in the amenities that young talent demand in a Cool Community.
What is your Youth Initiative?
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