Booming oil, booming incomes: ND incomes nearly doubled in past decade

By Rob Port / March 26, 2014
http://watchdog.org/134361/north-dakota-personal-income/

By Rob Port | Watchdog.org North Dakota Bureau

NEARLY DOUBLE: Personal incomes in North Dakota have nearly doubled in the past decade due to a strong economy driven by energy development and agriculture. Chart courtesy of the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

BISMARCK, N.D. — North Dakota’s leaders like to refer to their state as the economic envy of the nation, and the numbers seem to back them up.

According to the most recent personal income report from the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis, the oil-rich plains state is once again leading the nation in personal income growth.

This marks the sixth time in the past seven years North Dakota has had the fastest personal income growth in the nation.

Nationally, personal income growth slowed from 4.2 percent in 2012 to 2.6 percent in 2013, but North Dakota nearly tripled the national rate at 7.6 percent. The state also was double the second rate state, Utah, which saw 4 percent growth, according to the BEA.

West Virginia saw the slowest growth in the nation at 1.5 percent.

North Dakota’s per-capita personal yearly income is $57,084 in 2013, up from $54,871 in 2012. The state now ranks third in the nation in per capita personal income, behind only Connecticut’s $60,487 and Washington, D.C., at $74,513.

It’s been a steep climb for personal incomes in the state. The 2013 level represents a 93 percent increase from 2003 when incomes were $29,569 per capita.

“These latest statistics are more evidence that our efforts to create jobs and career opportunities are getting results,” Gov. Jack Dalrymple said of the results. “We are enjoying economic growth in all regions of the state and our income growth stems from nearly every business sector.”

North Dakota has been riding a wave of aggressive energy development starting in 2006 when oil discovered in the Parshall Oil Field set off what is widely called the Bakken Oil Boom.

An "oil" spill in Lake Michigan has affected about a half-mile section of shoreline near Chicago following a malfunction at BP's northwestern Indiana refinery.

Reports are coming in that this is actually a tar sands spill: http://surfgreatlakes.org/2014/03/25/breaking-bp-spills-oil-into-lake-michigan/

BP does not yet know the amount of tar sands spilled into the lake.

And one has to do with the other why ??? You are pointing out spills, well lets looks at car wrecks, should they stop making cars because of the thousands of people killed every year, or airplanes, or trains, or stop making booze because of the effects on the body or drunk drivers. Everything comes with a cost...

LOL of course not!!  people cause accidents not cars.
I am pointing out all the disasters from oil spills and fracking, caused by people, and the systems, not up dated and regulated, some one caused this from negligence probably, there is practically and oil spill everyday somewhere.

Please stick to facts you can prove with accredited news sites. This was a malfunction at this spill just as cars malfunction and kill people.

SSC of course malfunctions, but that is not the case in oil spills or cars. it is people not driving more careful and people not doing all they can to prevent malfunctions in oil drilling, and refining.

Did you read your article on the oil spill, it was due to a malfunction, things happen like that every day, if your hot water heater leaks at a valve is that your fault ? Should you have been more observant ? If a pipe bursts in your attic is that your fault ? Should you have inspected every pipe more carefully ? A malfunction of equipment often gives no warning until it is to late. Bashing oil companies solves nothing, nor bashing companies like GM that just did an over 2 million car recall for faulty air bags and brake lines. These malfunctions caused loss of life. Odds are in every ones life at one time or another we will be impacted by some sort of malfunction.

You must not have read your article it states 500 gallons of a thick oil was spilled. So your statement BP doesn't know the amount is not accurate.

this is much bigger than my hot water heater leaking.. oil spills affect millions of people, and put their health at risk,more work needs done on regulation, your using mundane things as reference, this oil spill disaster are not mundane,or ordinary.

No matter how big or small it is still categorized as a malfunction, trying to push regulations is old news , that has been done already, inspections have been stepped up since the BP spill in the gulf. Should you say the inspectors are at fault ?? It is their job to make sure everything is working properly but there is no guarantee a valve will not malfunction or a hose will not rupture, it is the unseen that time and time again cause problems. Again today Toyota making another recall 950,000 autos, whose fault is that, in order for something to be deemed faulty there has to be an incident to call attention, not regulations there are enough of those in place now.