Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Global Views on Morality

The Pew Center’s 2013 Global Attitudes survey asked 40,117 respondents in 40 countries what they thought about eight topics often discussed as moral issues: extramarital affairs, gambling, homosexuality, abortion, premarital sex, alcohol consumption, divorce, and the use of contraceptives. For each issue, respondents were asked whether this is morally acceptable, morally unacceptable, or not a moral issue. The chart below displays the median responses for each question across the 40 countries.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

South, West Have Fastest-Growing Cities

 Austin has been the capital of Texas since 1839, and in 2013 the area became the nation’s capital for population growth, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates released this week. San Marcos, Cedar Park and Georgetown — each near Austin — ranked among the 10 fastest-growing cities with populations of 50,000 or more during the year ending July 1, 2013. San Marcos was number one in percent growth for the second consecutive year, with Austin itself gaining more people (nearly 21,000) than any city with fewer than 1 million residents.
       The South and West dominated the list of fastest-growing municipalities between 2012 and 2013, claiming all of the top 15, seven of which were in Texas. Frisco and McKinney (near Dallas), Odessa (in West Texas) and Pearland (near Houston) were the other Texas cities on the list. (See Table 1 for complete list.)
     In terms of numeric growth, 13 of the 15 cities that added the most people between 2012 and 2013 were in the South or West, except for New York City, which ranked first in numeric population growth. The nation’s largest city, New York, added 61,440 people in the year ending July 1, 2013. New York continued to be the nation’s most populous city by a wide margin, with 8.4 million residents in 2013, followed by Los Angeles and Chicago. The list of the 15 most populous cities has remained unchanged since last year, aside from Indianapolis moving past Jacksonville to number 12. (See Table 2 for complete list.)
      The list of the top 15 numeric gainers was also bookended by another city outside the South or West: Columbus, Ohio, which gained 12,450 people. In between were five Texas cities (Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Dallas and Fort Worth) and three in California (Los Angeles, San Diego and San Jose). (See Table 3 for complete list.)
      The statistics released cover all local governmental units, including incorporated places (like cities and towns), minor civil divisions (such as townships) and consolidated cities (government units for which the functions of an incorporated place and its parent county have merged).
  

Monday, May 26, 2014

The worst countries in the world in which to be a worker

From BoingBoing:

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), a trade group alliance that works to improve laborers' rights around the globe, released its Global Rights Index this week. Countries are ranked from 1 (best) to 5 (worst) on a scale of how well they guard workers' rights. Cambodia, Qatar, and Guatemala were among the worst offenders.

The ITUC Global Rights Index ranks 139 countries against 97 internationally recognised indicators to assess where workers’ rights are best protected, in law and in practice.

“Countries such as Denmark and Uruguay led the way through their strong labour laws, but perhaps surprisingly, the likes of Greece, the United States and Hong Kong, lagged behind,” said ITUC general secretary Sharan Burrow.

“A country’s level of development proved to be a poor indicator of whether it respected basic rights to bargain collectively, strike for decent conditions, or simply join a union at all.”

Here's the report.

Sunday, May 25, 2014

The Effects of Exercise on The Brain

This Infographic about the effects of exercise on the brain suggestsone should keep a healthy mind and body by having an active lifestyle.

Explore the infographic here:
http://ghergich.com/infographic-examples/effects-of-exercise-on-the-brain/

Saturday, May 24, 2014

For the First Time, Public Education Revenue Decreases in 2012

Public elementary and secondary education revenue declined in fiscal year 2012 for the first time since 1977, when the U.S. Census Bureau began collecting public education finance data on an annual basis. According to new Census Bureau findings released this week, public elementary and secondary school systems received $594.5 billion in total revenue in fiscal year 2012, down $4.9 billion (0.8 percent) from fiscal year 2011.
The findings come from Public Education Finances: 2012. These statistics provide figures on revenues, expenditures, debt and assets (cash and security holdings) of the nation’s elementary and secondary public school systems. The report, released annually, includes detailed statistics on spending — such as instruction, student transportation, salaries and employee benefits — at the national, state and school district levels.
State governments were the leading source of revenue ($270.4 billion), closely followed by revenue from local sources ($264.6 billion); almost two-thirds (65.3 percent) of revenue from local sources came from property taxes. Public school systems received $59.5 billion in revenue from the federal government, a decrease of $14.2 billion (19.2 percent) from the previous fiscal year.
The 50 states and the District of Columbia spent $10,608 per student on public elementary and secondary education in 2012, the same amount as 2011. All nine states in the Northeast were ranked among the 15 states with the highest spending per pupil (not including capital outlay or expenditure on long-term debt) in 2012. Out of the 20 states with the lowest spending per pupil, 18 were in the South or West.
The top spenders per pupil were New York ($19,552), the District of Columbia ($17,468), Alaska ($17,390), New Jersey ($17,266) and Connecticut ($16,274).
For the third year in a row there was a decline in total expenditures, which decreased to $593.8 billion, a $2.5 billion (0.4 percent) decrease from the previous year.
For the first time, these statistics can be found in American FactFinder, one of the Census Bureau’s data research tools.

Friday, May 23, 2014

Sub county population estimates and county housing units estimates now available

The Census Bureau released population estimates for cities, towns and villages.

All detail, including estimates for balance of town, parts of villages within a town, etc can be downloaded for each state. There is also a description of the methodology on that page.

You can find a table on incorporated places (cities and villages) in AFF.
For New York.

And a table for all county subdivisions (towns and cities) in AFF.
For New York.

Also released are estimates for the number of housing units. On AFF.
For New York.

If you see anything that looks suspicious because of your local knowledge please let me know. The Census Bureau has different avenues to integrate better local data when available but with some limitations on the kinds of data they can accept. Data on building permits and demolitions are driving this round of estimates.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

The 10 most dangerous US cities for pedestrians

From BoingBoing:

Which American cities are the least and most safe for human beings on foot? Here are the stats, from “Dangerous by Design 2014” [PDF], a study by the Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition. The report calculates a “Pedestrian Danger Index” to identify where a person who is walking is most or least likely to get hit by a car.

The top four most dangerous cities are all in Florida. The four most safe: Boston, Pittsburgh, Seattle, and NYC. People who are not white and people who are older than 65 are most at risk.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

April 2014: tied for warmest April on record


The combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces for April 2014 tied with 2010 as the highest on record for the month, at 0.77°C (1.39°F) above the 20th century average of 13.7°C (56.7°F).

The global land surface temperature was 1.35°C (2.43°F) above the 20th century average of 8.1°C (46.5°F), marking the third warmest April on record. For the ocean, the April global sea surface temperature was 0.55°C (0.99°F) above the 20th century average of 16.0°C (60.9°F), also the third highest for April on record.

The combined global land and ocean average surface temperature for the January–April period (year-to-date) was 0.64°C (1.15°F) above the 20th century average of 12.6°C (54.8°F), the sixth warmest such period on record.

More from NOAA.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Deforestation: Our Disappearing Woodland

We cannot stop deforestation effects, but we can help. It is estimated that 80 to 90% of tropical rain forest systems will be destroyed by the year 2020. Take action now by purchasing refurbished, reclaimed and reused furniture, cut down on your paper consumption and recycle the paper that you use.

Check out the Infographic HERE.

Monday, May 19, 2014

World Health Statistics 2014

The global target of halving the proportion of people without access to improved sources of drinking water was met in 2010, with remarkable progress also having been made in reducing child mortality, improving nutrition, and combating HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.

Between 1990 and 2012, mortality in children under 5 years of age declined by 47%, from an estimated rate of 90 deaths per 1000 live births to 48 deaths per 1000 live births. This translates into 17 000 fewer children dying every day in 2012 than in 1990.

Nevertheless, nearly 18,000 children worldwide died every day in 2012, and the global speed of decline in mortality rate remains insufficient to reach the target of a two-thirds reduction in the 1990 levels of mortality by the year 2015.

More from the World Health Organization.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

The Most Commonly Spoken Language in Each State Besides English and Spanish


From Mental Floss:
Today's map comes from Ben Blatt of Slate, who used data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. He created several other language maps, too, including each state's top Native American, Scandinavian, and African language.

Saturday, May 17, 2014

One hundred years of price change: the Consumer Price Index and the American inflation experience

The year 2013 marked, in a sense, the 100th anniversary of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), because 1913 is the first year for which official CPI data became available. For 100 years, the index has been a major measure of consumer inflation in the U.S. economy, through war and peace, booms and recessions. Over those 100 years, the general public and policymakers have focused almost constantly on inflation; they have feared it, bemoaned it, sought it, and even tried to whip it. Different subperiods saw different trends in price movement, so each generation of Americans had a different experience of price change from the ones before and after it. This article looks at major trends in price change from one subperiod to the next and at how Americans and their leaders regarded those trends and reacted to them.

More from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Friday, May 16, 2014

Voting Patterns of Young Adults

Voting rates among young adults fell to 38.0 percent in 2012 from 44.3 percent in 2008 following increases in two consecutive presidential elections (2008 and 2004), according to a U.S. Census Bureau report on age and voting patterns.

These statistics come from Young Adult Voting: An Analysis of Presidential Elections, 1964-2012, which uses data collected by the Current Population Survey. The report provides a detailed 50-year historical portrait of voters with a specific focus on young adults.

In every U.S. presidential election from 1964 on, 18- to 24-year-olds voted at lower rates than all other age groups. In contrast, Americans 65 and older have voted at higher rates than all other age groups since the 1996 election.

“The young-adult voting gap closed somewhat from 2000 to 2008 but opened up a bit again in 2012,” said Thom File, a sociologist in the Census Bureau’s Social, Economic and Housing Statistics Division. “Age-based voting patterns are not set in stone. For example as recently as 1992, the nation’s oldest voters did not vote at a level higher than all other age groups.”

State Level Voting

Voting rates also varied by state according to the report. Although 18- to 29-year-olds voted at lower levels than other age groups nationally in 2012, this result was not geographically uniform.

“Although young adults have been historically less inclined to vote than older individuals, in 2012 young voters were more engaged in states where older populations were highly engaged as well,” File said. “At the very least, this suggests that low voting rates among young adults can vary according to geography and other factors.”

Gender and Age Differences

Voting rates have also varied according to age and gender. Women tend to vote at higher rates than men across most age groups. In every election since 1996, women age 18 through 29 voted at higher rates than men of the same age, with a difference of about 8.0 percentage points in 2008. For older Americans, a gender voting gap has operated in reverse, with men 65 and older voting at higher rates than women of that age in every election since 1996. At about 6.5 percentage points, this differential was larger in 1996 than in the two most recent elections, with older men voting at a higher rate than older women by about 3.7 percentage points, an indication that the gender divide among older voters may soon be a thing of the past.

Online Data Tools: Voting Report

In addition to the report, the Census Bureau released an interactive Voting Report that provides comparisons of voting and registration patterns by demographic, social and geographic characteristics for the U.S. and states.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Divorce Rate Higher than Ever

How can that be? Everyone knows the divorce rate is down. Once boomers dumped spouse number one and settled down with spouse number two, divorce moved off their bucket list.

Not so, according to demographers Sheela Kennedy and Steven Ruggles. In their research paper, "Breaking Up Is Hard to Count: The Rise of Divorce in the United States, 1980-2010" (Demography, April 2014, $39.95), the researchers blame a "deterioration of the statistical system" for the "uncertainty about trends in union instability over the past three decades." Their analysis shows that rather than declining, the divorce rate in 2011 was at a record high.

More from the Demo Memo.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Americans’ aging autos

From 2008 to 2012, the average age of U.S. households’ vehicles increased as owners held on to their cars, trucks, and vans longer. The trend in aging autos coincides with declines in average household income in 2008; however, subsequent recovery in households’ incomes and a return to previous levels of expenditures on vehicles in 2012 do not appear to have reversed the pattern of aging. Analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey suggests that households continued to own the same number of vehicles over the last 10 years, but are owning their vehicles longer.

More from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Coincidence or Spurious Correlation: Divorce Rate In Maine and the Per Capita Consumption of Butter in the US:

Here for spreading far and wide is another graphical reminder of the important distinction between correlation and causation.

Created by Tyler Vigen, Spurious Correlations is a website devoted to documenting examples of what are best described as spurious relationships – that is, relationships in which two events have no causal link, but still appear to due to either a coincidence or a third, confounding variable. The same way the rise in autism rates may look like it's caused by the rise in organic food sales, Vigen's charts show causal relationships between things like divorce rates in Maine and margarine consumption, the number of people who died by becoming tangled in their bedsheets and total revenue generated by skiing facilities, and US crude oil imports from Norway and the number of drivers killed per annum in railway train collisions. A good website to have on hand when discussing cognitive biases with antivaxxers.

More from IO9.

Monday, May 12, 2014

Modes Less Traveled -- Bicycling and Walking to Work in the United States: 2008-2012

Many U.S. cities are seeing an increase in bicycle commuters, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released last week. Nationwide, the number of people who traveled to work by bike increased roughly 60 percent over the last decade, from about 488,000 in 2000 to about 786,000 during the 2008-2012 period. This is the largest percentage increase of all commuting modes tracked by the 2000 Census and the 2008-2012 American Community Survey.
The report.

The Census Bureau also released a new commuting edition of the interactive map Census Explorer, which gives Web visitors easy click-and-zoom access to commuting statistics for every neighborhood in the U.S. It also shows how commuting has changed since 1990 at the neighborhood, county and state level — including how long it takes to get to work, commutes longer than an hour, and number of bikers. This edition of Census Explorer uses statistics from the American Community Survey, the best national source of commuting statistics down to the neighborhood level.

“In recent years, many communities have taken steps to support more transportation options, such as bicycling and walking,” said Brian McKenzie, a Census Bureau sociologist and the report’s author. “For example, many cities have invested in bike share programs, bike lanes and more pedestrian-friendly streets.”

While bicyclists still account for just 0.6 percent of all commuters, some of the nation’s largest cities have more than doubled their rates since 2000. Portland, Ore., had the highest bicycle-commuting rate at 6.1 percent, up from 1.8 percent in 2000. In Minneapolis, the rate increased from 1.9 percent to 4.1 percent.

The report also looks at the number of people who walk to work. After steadily decreasing since 1980, the percent of people who walk to work has stabilized since 2000. In 1980, 5.6 percent of workers walked to work, and that rate declined to 2.9 percent by 2000. However, in the 2008-2012 period, the rate of walkers remained statistically unchanged from 2000. Among larger cities, Boston had the highest rate of walking to work at 15.1 percent.
The report, “Modes Less Traveled — Bicycling and Walking to Work in the United States: 2008-2012,” highlights the trends and socio-economic and geographic differences between motorized and nonmotorized commutes. This report — the Census Bureau’s first focusing only on biking and walking to work — is one of many that examines specific aspects of commuting, including workplace location, working from home, long commutes and specific travel modes.

Biking to Work Highlights
• The West had the highest rate of biking to work at 1.1 percent, and the South had the lowest rate at 0.3 percent.
• Among large cities, Portland, Ore., had the highest bicycle-commuting rate at 6.1 percent.
• The median commute time for those who bike to work was about 19.3 minutes.
• Men were more likely to bike to work than women were. The rate of bicycle commuting for men was more than double that of women, 0.8 percent compared with 0.3 percent.
• Those with a graduate or professional degree or higher and those with less than a high school degree had the highest rates of biking to work, at 0.9 and 0.7 percent, respectively.
• 1.5 percent of those with an income of $10,000 or less commuted to work by bicycle, the highest rate of bicycle commuting by any income category.
• African-Americans had the lowest rate of biking to work at 0.3 percent, compared with some other race or two or more races who had the highest rate at 0.8 percent.

Walking to Work Highlights
• The Northeast showed the highest rate of walking to work at 4.7 percent of workers. Several of the places with high rates were “college towns,” including Ithaca, N.Y., where about 42.4 percent walked to work. The South had the lowest rate at 1.8 percent. Among large cities, Boston was one of the highest walking-to-work cities at 15.1 percent.
• Workers living in core cities walked to work at a rate of 4.3 percent, compared with 2.4 percent for workers in suburbs.
• The median commute time for those who walk to work was 11.5 minutes, and they left their home at later hours than other modes.
• Men walked to work at a rate of 2.9 percent compared with 2.8 percent for women.
• Those with less than a high school degree had the highest rate of walking to work at 3.7 percent, followed by those with graduate or professional degrees at 2.7 percent.
• 8.2 percent of those with an income of $10,000 or less walked to work, the highest rate of walking to work by any income category.
• Asians and workers of some other race or two or more races had the highest rate of walking to work at 4.0 and 4.2, respectively.

Friday, May 9, 2014

Mother's Day: May 11, 2014 - Profile America Facts for Features

Mother’s Day: May 11, 2014
The driving force behind Mother’s Day was Anna Jarvis, who organized observances in Grafton, W.Va., and Philadelphia on May 10, 1908. As the annual celebration became popular around the country, Jarvis asked members of Congress to set aside a day to honor mothers. She succeeded in 1914, when Congress designated the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.
How Many Mothers
4.1 million
Number of women between the ages of 15 and 50 who gave birth in the past 12 months. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 American Community Survey, Table B13002  <http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/12_1YR/B13002>
35.7%
Percentage of births in 2011 that were to unmarried women age 15 to 50. The metro areas with birth rates to unmarried mothers that were among the highest in the country included Flagstaff, Ariz. (74.6 percent), Greenville, N.C. (69.4 percent), Lima, Ohio (67.5 percent), Myrtle Beach-North Myrtle Beach-Conway, S.C. (67.4 percent) and Danville, Va. (67.3 percent).
Source: Social and Economic Characteristics of Currently Unmarried Women With a Recent Birth: 2011, Table 1 <http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/acs-21.pdf>
How Many Children
2,373.5 
Decline in total fertility rate or estimated number of total births per 1,000 women in Utah in 2012 (based on current birth rates by age), which led the nation. At the other end of the spectrum is Rhode Island, with a total fertility rate of 1,592.5 births per 1,000 women.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics Reports, Page 66, Table 12 <http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr62/nvsr62_09.pdf>
20%
Percentage of all women age 15 to 44 who have had two children. About 47 percent had no children, 17 percent had one, 10 percent had three and about 5 percent had four or more. Source: Fertility of American Women: 2010, Detailed Tables, Table 1 fertility/data/cps/2010.html
Recent Births
3.953 million 
Decline in the number of births registered in the United States in 2012. Of this number, 305,388 were to teens 15 to 19 and 7,157 to women age 45 to 49. Source: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics Reports <http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr62/nvsr62_09.pdf>
25.8 
Average age of women in 2012 when they gave birth for the first time, up from 25.6 years in 2011. The increase in the mean age in 2012 reflects, in part, the relatively large decline in births to women in their teen years and their 20s. Source: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics Reports, Page 7 <http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr62/nvsr62_09.pdf>          
62.1%
Percentage of women age 16 to 50 who had a birth in the past 12 months who were in the labor force. Source: 2012 American Community Survey, American FactFinder, Table S1301 <http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/12_1YR/S1301>
29.5%
The percentage of mothers who had given birth in the past 12 months who had a bachelor’s degree or higher. Source: 2012 American Community Survey, American FactFinder, Table S1301 <http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/12_1YR/S1301>
84.6%
Percentage of women age 15 to 50 who gave birth in the past year and who have at least a high school diploma. Source: 2012 American Community Survey, American FactFinder, Table S1301 <http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/12_1YR/S1301>
Jacob and Sophia
The most popular baby names for boys and girls, respectively, in 2012. Source: Social Security Administration babynames/>
66
Number of births in the past year per 1,000 women age 15 to 50 with a graduate or professional degree. The number was 56 per 1,000 for women whose highest level of education was a bachelor’s degree. Source: 2012 American Community Survey, American FactFinder, Table S1301 <http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/12_1YR/S1301>

Mother's Day: May 11, 2014
Mothers Remembered
15,307
Number of florists nationwide in 2011. The 66,165 employees in floral shops across our nation will be especially busy preparing, selling and delivering floral arrangements for Mother’s Day.
Source: County Business Patterns: 2011 (NAICS 45311) <http://censtats.census.gov/cgi-bin/cbpnaic/cbpdetl.pl>
12,403
Number of employees of greeting-card publishers in 2011.
Source: County Business Patterns: 2011 (NAICS 511191) <http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/>
15,097
The number of cosmetics, beauty supplies and perfume stores nationwide in 2011. Perfume is a popular gift given on Mother’s Day.
Source: County Business Patterns: 2011 (NAICS 44612) <http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/>
23,394
Number of jewelry stores in the United States in 2011 — the place to purchase necklaces, earrings and other timeless pieces for mom.
Source: County Business Patterns: 2011 (NAICS 44831) <http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/>
Stay-at-Home Moms
5 million
Number of stay-at-home moms in married-couple family groups in 2013 — statistically unchangedfrom 2012 and 2011. In 2013, 24 percent of married-couple family groups with children under 15 had a stay-at-home mother, up from 21 percent in 2000. In 2007, before the recession, stay-at-home mothers were found in 24 percent of married-couple family groups with children under 15, not statistically different from the percentage in 2012. Source: America's Families and Living Arrangements, Table SHP-1 <http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/p20-570.pdf>
Compared with other moms, stay-at-home moms in 2007 were more likely: 
· Younger (44 percent were under age 35 compared with 38 percent of mothers in the labor force).
· Hispanic (27 percent compared with 16 percent of mothers in the labor force).
· Foreign-born (34 percent compared with 19 percent of mothers in the labor force).
· Living with a child under age 5 (57 percent compared with 43 percent of mothers in the labor force).
· Without a high school diploma (19 percent versus 8 percent of mothers in the labor force).
Source: America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2007 <http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hh-fam/p20-561.pdf>
Taking Care of the Kids
863,126
Number of child day care services employees across the country in 2011. They were employed by one of  the 75,059 child day care services. In addition, there were 747,436 child day care services without paid employees. Many mothers turn to these centers to help juggle motherhood and careers.
Source: County Business Patterns: 2011 NAICS 6244 <http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/> and Nonemployer Statistics: 201l <http://www.census.gov/econ/nonemployer/>
94%
The percentage of the 37.8 million mothers living with children younger than 18 in 2004 who lived with their biological children only. In addition, 3 percent lived with stepchildren, 2 percent with adopted children and 0.5 percent with foster children.
Source: Living Arrangements of Children: 2004 <http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/p70-114.pdf>
Single Moms
10 million
The number of single mothers living with children younger than 18 in 2013, up from 3.4 million in 1970. Source: America’s Families and Living Arrangements <http://www.census.gov/hhes/families/files/shp1.xls> Table SHP-1
5.6 million
Number of custodial mothers who were due child support in 2011. Source: Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support: 2011, Table 1 <http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/p60-246.pdf>
415,475
Number of mothers who had a birth in the past 12 months and were living with a cohabiting partner. Source: 2012 American Community Survey, American FactFinder, Table B13004<http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/12_1YR/B13004>

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Millennial Marriage Projections

From the New Strategist newsletter:

The millennial generation has postponed marriage for so long it will go into the record books. According to projections by the Urban Institute, millennials will be less likely to have married by age 40 than any generation in American history--even if they hurry up about it.

"The economic shock of the recession put marriage on hold for many young adults and marriage rates are returning slowly (if at all) to pre-recession levels," explain the Urban Institute researchers in their report on the projections. Take a look at the trend: Among women, the percentage who had married by age 40 was 91 percent for older boomers, 87 percent for younger boomers, and 82 percent for generation X. Even if marriage rates return to pre-recession levels, only 77 percent of younger millennial women will have married by age 40. If marriage rates do not rebound, an even smaller 69 percent will have married by age 40. For millennial men, the respective figures are 73 percent with a rebound and 65 percent without.

"With respect to marriage at least, our projections indicate that many of these millennials will not recover in the future from the opportunities they have missed as young adults," say the researchers. As if that's not enough, there's more bad news. Not only will millennials be the biggest "singles" generation in history, but marital status will split the generation into haves and have-nots. That's because marriage rates are higher for college graduates, who earn more and tend to marry one another.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Are You Addicted to Your Cellphone?

From Departing the Text:

Are you texting/messaging or checking emails all the time? Is it with you all the time?

Some interesting cell-phone statistics:

According to Mobile Mindset Study conducted by security app Lookout:
58% of U.S. smartphone owners check their phones at least every hour - and a large share check their phones while in bed or in the bathroom;
63% of women and 73% of men ages 18-34 say they don't go an hour without checking their phones (Mobile Mindset Study conducted by security app Lookout);
94% of those surveyed were concerned about losing their smartphones, 73% said they'd panic, and 38% are most concerned about the cost and hassle of replacing a lost phone.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Wide Impact of Climate Change Already Seen in U.S., Study Says


The effects of human-induced climate change are being felt in every corner of the United States, scientists reported Tuesday, with water growing scarcer in dry regions, torrential rains increasing in wet regions, heat waves becoming more likely and more severe, wildfires growing worse, and forests dying under assault from heat-loving insects.

Such sweeping changes have been caused by an average warming of less than 2 degrees Fahrenheit over most land areas of the country in the past century, the scientists found. If greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane continue to escalate at a rapid pace, they said, the warming could conceivably exceed 10 degrees by the end of this century.

“Climate change, once considered an issue for a distant future, has moved firmly into the present,” the scientists declared in a major new report assessing the situation in the United States.

Monday, May 5, 2014

Data on housing loan origination

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau maintains data related to housing loans, going back to 2007, and a lot of the filters on even their basic search tool - geography, owner-occupied or not, demographics on loan applicants - will be useful.

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Active U.S. Hate Groups

The Southern Poverty Law Center counted 939 active hate groups in the United States in 2013. Only organizations and their chapters known to be active during 2013 are included.

All hate groups have beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics.

This list was compiled using hate group publications and websites, citizen and law enforcement reports, field sources and news reports.

Hate group activities can include criminal acts, marches, rallies, speeches, meetings, leafleting or publishing. Websites appearing to be merely the work of a single individual, rather than the publication of a group, are not included in this list. Listing here does not imply a group advocates or engages in violence or other criminal activity.

Friday, May 2, 2014

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Older Americans Month: May 2014


                                          
Older Americans Month: May 2014
A meeting with the National Council of Senior Citizens resulted in President John F. Kennedy designating May 1963 as Senior Citizens Month, encouraging the nation to pay tribute to older people across the country. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter’s proclamation changed the name to Older Americans Month, a time to celebrate those 65 and older through ceremonies, events and public recognition.
43.1 million
The number of people who were 65 and older in the United States on July 1, 2012. This group accounted for 13.7 percent of the total population. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population  Estimates
92.0 million
Projected population of people 65 and older in 2060. People in this age group would comprise just over one in five U.S. residents at that time. Of this number, 18.2 million would be 85 or older. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Projections
2.4 million
Projected number of baby boomers in 2060. At that time, the youngest baby boomers would be 96 years old. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Projections
2056
The year in which, for the first time, the population 65 and older would outnumber people younger than 18 in the U.S. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Projections