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Evictions In The United States; Impact Of Census On The U.S. House Representatives; Booming Business Of "Fake Space Dirt"
Aired August 26, 2021 - 04:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hi, I`m Carl Azuz for CNN 10. We hope you`re enjoying our show so far this season. In today`s down the middle coverage,
we`re explaining a complicated and controversial subject concerning evictions in the United States.
Under normal circumstances, people who rent their homes can be forced to leave. They can be evicted if they don`t pay the rent they owe, but
starting last year as the COVID pandemic hit the U.S. economy then President Donald Trump signed a law that among other things, temporarily
stopped evictions. One major argument for doing this was to allow renters to stay in their homes, even if they couldn`t afford their rent because
they`d lost income due to the pandemic.
But after that law expired, President Trump signed an Executive Order that gave the U.S. Centers for Disease Control the power to stop evictions. That
was also meant to be temporary but the order has been extended several times and current U.S. President Joe Biden has continued extending it. But
as we said, it`s controversial.
The Biden Administration says the CDC has the power to take steps to prevent the spread of diseases like COVID-19 and it argues that allowing
evictions could increase the spread of the virus because it could force renters to move in with other people, or become homeless.
But property owners say, this violates their rights to control the homes they rent out, in some cases they say people who can pay rent are taking
advantage of the law and refusing to pay it, and they add it`s not fair or legal that some renters are allowed to live on someone else`s property for
free while the property owner is forced to pay the taxes, insurance and maintenance on the home.
So what do the courts say? They`re all over the place. Some cases have been decided in favor of the government`s eviction ban. Some have been decided
against it. In early June, landlords asked the Supreme Court to effectively let the current eviction ban end.
The Biden Administration said the ban would on July 31st and the Supreme Court decided not to end it early. But in August, the Biden Administration
extended the ban again, this time through early October and all this is now back at the Supreme Court. An alliance of landlords and real estate groups
is asking the high court to end the current eviction ban.
It argues that Congress never gave the CDC the power to stop evictions. The Biden Administration argues that the ban needs to stay in place, because
the country is dealing with a historic public health emergency. How all this turns out for some renters and property owners hangs in the balance.
10 Second Trivia. The 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution concerns what subject? Voting rights, income taxes, presidential terms or alcohol sales.
The 16th Amendment gives Congress the power to collect income taxes without regards to census results.
But census results do factor into the number of lawmakers each U.S. state has in the House of Representatives. The results of the 2020 U.S. Census
came out earlier this year. The Census Bureau said they were delayed by the COVID pandemic and the challenges it created in collecting information.
The big findings include the fact that the U.S. population is now greater than 331 million, but that population growth has slowed. The shifts in
where people are living will affect how much money certain states will receive from the Federal government. How will they affect representation in
that government?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After months of waiting in delay, the U.S. Census Bureau finally released its count of the country`s population in late April, and
with it the states that will gain and lose Congressional seats over the next decade. Now, the decennial, big word, decade long process of
reallocating the 435 House districts among the 50 states, using population growth and loss, which is also known as reapportionate is an official kick-
off of each states redistricting processes, in which, the lines of each Congressional seat are redrawn to deal with the census results. So here`s
the big news.
The country`s population grew from roughly 309 million in 2010 to 331 million in 2020. Let`s say 7.35 percent increase is also the slowest
population growth since 1930 to 1940, the decade of the Great Depression. So if your state grew slower than 7.3 percent, you likely lost a seat in
Congress. If it grew faster than that number, you probably gained a seat or two.
So in that latter growth category, there are a half dozen states that will gain at least one new seat in 2022 with Texas the lone state, Lone Star,
see what I did there, to gain two districts. On the losing seats end are a gaggle of states that are mostly centered in the upper Midwest.
So I dug through the numbers, get my shovel, yes, so it was an act of total joy. I love this stuff. It came up with five things, five things about the
census count you will want to know to impress your friends and vanquish your enemies, which is a real goal in life. Isn`t it? Just me. OK. Let`s
go.
Number one, the south and west continue to see more and more population and Congressional power. All six states gaining House seats, Texas, Florida,
Colorado, Montana, Oregon, and North Carolina are in the two regions of the country that we have seen grow fastest over the past three decades when
looking at demographic data from the 2000 census through the 2020 census.
Since that 2000 census, for example, Texas has gained eight seats, while Florida has gained five and Arizona and Georgia have picked up three each.
In fact, of the 13 states that have gained seats in reapportionate since the 2000 census, all 13 of those states are in either the south or the
Midwest.
Yes, it`s a trend. Number two, the "Rust Belt" continues to lose seats of power. So over seven states losing a district following the 2020 census,
all but two California and New York fall within the one-time manufacturing heart of this country. Pennsylvania has lost four seats since 2000, as has
Ohio. Michigan is down three, same with Illinois.
The biggest loser in the past three decades however is New York having lost five seats. Here`s an amazing New York stat. After the 1940 census, New
York had 4 Congressional districts. It will have just 26 in 2022. Number three, the electoral map didn`t change all that much.
OK, so the expectation and most of the projections going into this reapportionate so that the electoral map would move in favor of Republicans
because of a major expected gains in Republican friendly territories like Texas and Florida. But Texas gained only two seats and Florida just one, in
each case, a seat fewer than most politics watchers had predicted would happen.
Number four, the long California boom is no more. For much of the past five decades, California has been the population engine of the country. A scout
(inaudible) Washington Post noted in a terrific piece on the "Golden State" and it`s population in late April quote, "Beginning in 1960, the state
population grew by more than 30 percent each of the next three decades.
A rate that peaked in the 1990 census, which found California`s population had jumped 37 percent over the previous 10 years" end quote which is
remarkable growth. The state`s Congressional delegation, not surprisingly, also grew rapidly. It went from 30 seats in the 1950s` to 52 seats just
four decades later.
But in the last 10 years, California`s population grew by 6.1 percent, well below that national average I mentioned of 7.4 percent. Which means, as I
said, for the first time ever California will lose a seat in Congress, trapping its literally massive delegation down to 52 members come 2022.
That, of course, still makes California the largest single state delegation by a lot. Number five, Texas is the new political superpower. Sure, Texas
gained two seats as opposed to the three that most people had expected, but the addition means that the "Lone Star" state will have 38 House seats and
40 electoral college votes, which begins to rival the ongoing might of California, 54 electoral votes in 2024.
OK. So 50,000 foot broad view, what the census numbers reveal is that the political realignment of the U.S. More power to the south and west and less
of it for the Midwest and east continued steadily over the last decade.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: For sale, fake space dirt. You might be like, whew, I bet business is booming. Well business is booming. A lab at the University of Central
Florida mixes natural earth elements with chemical formulas. The idea is to create soil that`s like that on Mars or asteroids. NASA, space companies,
schools are all customers.
They use the fake space dirt for research. The lab has shipped 25 tons of dirt this year. That`s five times more than all of last year, and that`s
how to dish the dirt on a group that makes it. I wonder if they needed to put up "For Soil" signs. Every business wants to be "grounded" in strong
sales.
They "dig" deep into research on how to do that, and while it`s a "dirty" job someone needs to "mix" it up, so others can "plant the seeds" of new
research. We are going to Summerville, South Carolina today.
It`s where we heard from Ashley Ridge High School on our You Tube channel. If you never want to miss a show, please subscribe to Youtube.com/cnn10 and
click that notification bell. I`m Carl Azuz.
END
