It is often said that money makes the world go 'round. Of course, that's not literally true, but money does have the power to make those of us spinning around on this planet live more comfortably. It's a fact, perhaps regrettably, that today almost every aspect of our lives is affected on some level by money. Sometimes it's ours, and sometimes it's someone else's.

So any discussion of population loss must ultimately lead to talk of the financial specifics involved. It is no different when discussing population loss among our elderly. As we saw in last week's column, Miner County's age 65 and over demographic is disappearing at more than twice the rate of any of the surrounding counties. Certainly some are passing away, but there are also some who are simply moving away.

Sometimes we tend to think that older people who are no longer employed can contribute little to the economic stability of a place. But there are things we often overlook, although they shouldn't be hard to see. One fairly obvious example is that after a lifetime of working, some elderly people have saved fair amounts of money. If that money is held in local banks, the financial base of the whole area is strengthened.

If those people move away, their money goes with them.

But the term for the most often overlooked way many elderly people contribute financially to a community consists of two words: Transfer payments.

Put simply, transfer payments are state and federal entitlements paid out to individuals. Social Security, Medicare, food stamps, veterans' benefits, and unemployment compensation are some of the biggest transfer payment programs. In eastern South Dakota, retirement and medical programs like Social Security and Medicare account for more than 80 percent of total transfer payments.

Knowing that, we begin to see how a decline in our senior population affects the economics of the area. Dollars brought in as transfer payments are dollars that help our economy.

The dollar amount brought to Miner County through transfer payments has actually risen in the last ten years. Between 1990 and 1997, it rose nearly 38.8 percent. That's encouraging, but it's significantly smaller than the increases in surrounding counties, most of which have seen jumps of about 50 percent.

From there the numbers keep falling into line, and the conclusions are not hard to draw. The reason our transfer payments haven't increased as much as surrounding counties is that our elderly population is shrinking faster than our other age groups.

In 1990, Social Security and Medicare payments accounted for 78.8 percent of the total transfer payments to Miner County. By 1997, that number had fallen to 71.7 percent. That's due directly to a decrease in numbers of elderly collecting that money.

It's important to remember that those two figures don't indicate much about the total amount of money brought into the county via transfer payments. But they do strongly point out how senior loss has affected the makeup of the total amount.

The significant number when looking at the whole picture is that 38.8 percent that the total transfer payment dollar amount rose between 1990 and 1997.

Compare that 38.8 percent to the 50 percent rises seen in the surrounding counties, and it follows that we lag behind because of, yes… that loss in senior population.

From 1990 to 1997, Miner County saw an increase in transfer payments of $3.47 million a year. But if our payments had risen that 50 percent the surrounding counties saw, the increase by 1997 would have been $4.47 million a year. That's one million dollars each and every year that does not come here, in large part because our elderly population is not here to collect it at the same rate of those other counties.

And when we consider the fact that every taxpayer, regardless of age, contributes to those funds that come back to the area as transfer payments, it becomes a bit more striking. We pay in at the same rate as everyone else, but because of the age demographics of the county, we don't see as much returning to our local economy as we otherwise might.

When we combine the financial aspects of senior population loss with the more personal, human concerns discussed last week, it becomes more apparent than ever that retaining our elderly is more than important. It is necessary.

In our final installment on issues dealing with the elderly, we'll look at the future. Elderly population loss is not a hopeless cause, and there are things that can be done and are being done to make a change.

Miner Notes was a weekly column written by Matt Laible for MCCR to promote understanding about the place we call home. If you have questions or comments, please contact MCCR by calling 772-5153 or writing to P.O. Box 307 in Howard.