Census Bureau To Advertise In Super Bowl

Count the Census Bureau among the advertisers in February's Super Bowl. The agency is using the platform to nudge its huge audience to fill out forms for the 2010 count.

The February 7 game on CBS comes soon after the Census kicks off a $300 million-plus outreach campaign. And importantly, just a few weeks before the Bureau begins disseminating its questionnaires.

The Super Bowl offers a chance to swiftly reach a massive amount of the U.S. audience. Last year, 151.6 million people -- about half of the U.S. population -- watched at least a portion of the game. On average, the game was seen in 48 million homes and viewed by 98.7 million people.

More here.

Country Background Notes

These publications from the US State Department include facts about the land, people, history, government, political conditions, economy, and foreign relations of independent states, some dependencies, and areas of special sovereignty. The Background Notes are updated/revised by the Office of Electronic Information and Publications of the Bureau of Public Affairs as they are received from the Department's regional bureaus.

Foreign-Born in the United States

The Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 2007 and 2008 — National-level tabulations from the Current Population Survey on this population group are shown by a wide range of characteristics including education, marital status, employment status, occupation and industry, earnings and poverty, and household type and tenure. Unique to this data set are tables that show the foreign-born population by these characteristics crossed by generation status (i.e., first, second or third).

The Foreign-Born Labor Force in the United States: 2007 — This analysis from American Community Survey data looks at the characteristics of the civilian foreign-born vs. native labor force population on topics that include educational attainment, occupation and industry.

Richard Nathan's "Social Science in Government"

Richard P. Nathan's book Social Science in Government uses rich histories of prominent policy issues and descriptions of major studies of welfare and job programs to bring to life crucial questions about how social science can best serve social policy. Nathan, who recently retired from the Rockefeller Institute after 20 years as its director and co-director, is a social scientist who spent many years conducting evaluation studies of what works — and what doesn't work — in domestic public affairs. The book presents a lively retrospective account of a career as an insider and outsider in American government and academe.
The Institute has now made Social Science in Government available in its entirety online. You can find it here.

Update of Statistical Area Definitions, Guidance on Their Uses

The annual update of statistical area definitions and guidance on their uses from OMB was released on December 1st. You can find the full 154 page document here.

How Much Information? 2009 Report on American Consumers

From the Global Information Industry Center:

In 2008, Americans consumed information for about 1.3 trillion hours, an average of almost 12 hours per day. Consumption totaled 3.6 zettabytes and 10,845 trillion words, corresponding to 100,500 words and 34 gigabytes for an average person on an average day. A zettabyte is 10 to the 21st power bytes, a million million gigabytes. These estimates are from an analysis of more than 20 different sources of information, from very old (newspapers and books) to very new (portable computer games, satellite radio, and Internet video). Information at work is not included.

We defined "information" as flows of data delivered to people and we measured the bytes, words, and hours of consumer information. Video sources (moving pictures) dominate bytes of information, with 1.3 zettabytes from television and approximately 2 zettabytes of computer games. If hours or words are used as the measurement, information sources are more widely distributed, with substantial amounts from radio, Internet browsing, and others. All of our results are estimates.

Previous studies of information have reported much lower quantities.

Advertising Spending

From AdAge:

Here are 2007 data by industry.

For a fee, you can get 2008 and 2009 figures.

Local Governments Offer Data to Miners

Many local governments are turning over big chunks of data to programmers to create useful Web sites and apps.
By CLAIRE CAIN MILLER, New York Times

San Francisco, New York and Washington have all organized contests to encourage software developers to create applications with their data. And the developers are using the data to build businesses. Stamen, for example, uses Crimespotting to show potential clients what it could create for them. Other firms are selling the iPhone apps they have built.

The cities, meanwhile, are to some degree using developers to provide citizens with a service so they do not have to.

"We are increasingly governing in a time when the demand for services exceeds our resources," said Aneesh Chopra, chief technology officer of the United States. If the contests "spur dozens of innovative applications," he said, "then we’ve essentially achieved a policy objective at virtually no cost."

NORAD sees Ol' St. Nick when he's sleeping, knows when he's awake

Children of all ages are now able to track Santa live through a variety of social media services and OnStar, thanks to updates to the North American Aerospace Defense Command's annual Santa tracking public service.

New this year, children and the young-at-heart can track Santa through mobile devices and the Internet via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, TroopTube.mil and OnStar. To follow Santa on these Web sites, users should type @noradsanta into the search engine. Dedicated Santa trackers who are also OnStar subscribers can follow the jolly old elf in their vehicles by pushing the blue OnStar button to get status reports on Santa’s whereabouts.

The NORAD Tracks Santa Web site, www.noradsanta.org, is now live and features holiday games and activities that change daily. The Web site is available in seven languages: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish and Chinese. On Dec. 24, the Web site will stream videos, captured by NORAD “Santa Cams,” from cities along Santa’s journey.

More here: NORAD enhances Santa tracking abilities.

School district data

Purloined from a listserv:

NCES has a database of school district data. Additional profiles/geographic info available here.

School District Data compiles data from the Council of Chief School Officers. Free, and much of the info is the same as the NCES.

Estimates used for funding allocations for school districts based on the ACS are available through the Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE).

Proximity One has some free data on the site, and sells software for geographic applications by subscription. Has 2008 school district population estimates from the SAIPE in a ranked table.

Guide on how to use the ACS multiyear estimates

You will find a link to this 12-page guide here (12 pp, PDF).

It will explain some of what librarians and other data users need to do to provide
quality service for ACS data, including:

* "Cherry-picking" data from different surveys - a bad practice
* Questions of currency versus reliability
* Adjustments for inflation
* Comparing ACS multiyear estimates with each other
* Comparing ACS data with Census 2000 and Census 2010 data
* Four types of sampling errors
* Four types of non-sampling errors
* Data Swapping
* and more

May you find it useful.

Open Doors 2009: Annual Report on International Education

The United States continues to be the number one choice of international students seeking education outside their home countries, and the trend lines this past year remain positive.

We have seen major, double-digit increases from several countries – for example:

» The number of students coming from Vietnam increased 46%; and,
» The number of students from China, Saudi Arabia, and Nepal all increased by more than 20%.
A very substantial increase in first-time enrollments — 16% — has helped to bring the total number of international students in the United States to an all-time high. These numbers demonstrate the depth, diversity, and caliber of America’s higher education system, but we also recognize there is intense competition for these highly motivated students and scholars.

Form 990

NOZA has 990s on their site - it's the database that formerly belonged to GrantSmart. However, this database is primarily composed of grant-making organizations rather than grant-seeking or operating organizations.

Also, ERI has wonderful database of 990s. They only have the 2007 one as well.

International roundup of data

On a rare occassion, Information Advisor makes ones of its articles available free to everyone; it has just released on locating international industry information.

It's a roundup of some of the best sources (market research and industry databases, international agencies like UN, OECD, World Bank, associations, etc.); and search strategies for zeroing in on official and reputable information on industries around the globe.

It's a 4 page PDF.

Enjoy!

Homes With Cell Phones Nearly Double in First Half of Decade

The number of households with cell phones increased from 36 percent to 71 percent between 1998 and 2005, according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. This corresponded with a decrease in households with telephone landlines, particularly households headed by young adults.

Expanding the Product Line

There was a recent discussion on a listserv I monitor about what a florist might do who is suffering in the recession. One participant suggested "expanding their offerings beyond just flowers...some gifty/crafty stuff to compliment the flowers and get feet through the door and create incremental volume." Good idea, that.

One of my favorite resources is looking at the Economic Census for the Product Lines documents. The one for Retail Trade (NAICS 44-45) can be found here. For NAICS code 45311, found on page 173, you'll see that of the 22,750 florists in 2002:
3719 sell candy, 1209 sell other food stuff or 4061 selling some sort of grocery item (some sell both)
9268 sell some sort of kitchenware
603 sell jewelry
364 sell books
4810 sell games and toys

Again, these are 2002 numbers - the 2007 numbers don't exist yet - but it does provide some guidance for how an entity might diversify its line.

There are similar product line reports for:
NAICS 22: Utilities
NAICS 42: Wholesale Trade
NAICS 48-49: Transportation and Warehousing
NAICS 51: Information
NAICS 52: Finance and Insurance
NAICS 53: Real Estate, Rental and Leasing
NAICS 54: Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
NAICS 55: Management of Companies and Enterprises
NAICS 56: Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services Services
NAICS 61: Educational Services
NAICS 62: Health Care and Social Assistance
NAICS 71: Arts, Education and Recreation
NAICS 72: Accommodations and Food Services
NAICS 81: Other Services (except Public Administration)

This information is also available from Census' American Factfinder, but frankly I found it less than user-friendly.

New papers, presentations from Rockefeller Institute

Trends in state and local government finance, social welfare spending and gambling revenues to states are among the topics Rockefeller Institute researchers have explored in recent conference papers and presentations. The following papers and presentations are now available from the Rockefeller Institute Web site:
• The Decline of States in Financing the U.S. Safety Net: Retrenchment in State and Local Social Welfare Spending, by Thomas Gais, Lucy Dadayan and Suho Bae, presented at the “Reducing Poverty: Assessing Recent State Policy Innovations and Strategies” conference at Emory University, Nov. 19-20.
• State Budgets, Health Care, and Health Care Reform, presented by Donald J. Boyd to the National Academy of Public Administration, Nov. 19.
• Discussant comments on “Fiscal Sustainability Issues & Options,” presented by Donald J. Boyd at the National Tax Association Annual Meeting, Nov. 14.
• Trends in Gambling Revenue to the States, presented by Lucy Dadayan to Stop Predatory Gambling, Nov. 9.
• State Budget Gaps: Consequences for Policy, Now and in the Future, presented by Robert B. Ward to the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management Annual Research Conference, Nov. 5.

2006 Payroll Distribution Data by State and Major Industry

Because of recent requests for the number of firms by payroll size, the U.S.
Census Bureau recently produced 2006 payroll distribution data by state and major industry. The combined real estate, rental and leasing industry led the major industries in the share of firms with annual payrolls below $100,000 while the management industry had the lowest share. Most states were within 5 percent of the national share of firms with annual payrolls below $100,000, 58 percent. The District of Columbia stood out with only 36 percent of its firms in this pay category.

Should you need further information, please feel free to contact Brian Headd at (202) 205-6533 or advocacy@sba.gov.

MessageLabs Intelligence Special Reports

What are the most spammed cities and least spammed cities across the US and Canada? You might be surprised to find out that the top spammed cities are Idaho and New Brunswick. In 2008, Idaho actually fell into the top ten least spammed states.
Download the one page report highlighting the Top 10 Most Spammed Cities in the US and Canada.

The September 2009 MessageLabs Intelligence Special Reports provides greater detail on all of the trends and figures noted above, as well as more detailed geographical and industry sector trends.

Facts for Features & Special Editions

28
Number of places in the United States named Plymouth, as in Plymouth Rock, the landing site of the first Pilgrims. Plymouth, Minn., is the most populous, with 71,486 residents in 2008; Plymouth, Mass., had 55,705. There is just one township in the United States named “Pilgrim.” Located in Dade County, Mo., its population was 128 in 2008. And then there is Mayflower, Ark., whose population was 2,231 in 2008.


Where did I find all of those nifty statistics, and much more, about Thanksgiving? I went to Facts for Features & Special Editions, put out by the Census Bureau. Specifically, the Facts for Features for Thanksgiving 2009, which was posted on September 30.

Now if you want to spruce up your holiday newsletter or want some factoids for your business Twitter feed, you can get info from the Facts for Features: The 2009 Holiday Season, posted on October 29. Among other things, you can discover Where the Toys are Made (Pssst: Santa is, shockingly, NOT mentioned.)

And since the information is produced by the federal government, one can repost without fear of violating the Copyright Law.

Title II of Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act Takes Effect

On November 21, 2009 Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) took effect. GINA prohibits discrimination by health insurers and employers based on individuals' genetic information. Genetic information includes the results of genetic tests to determine whether someone is at increased risk of acquiring a condition (such as some forms of breast cancer) in the future, as well as a person's family medical history. For more information about Title I provisions of the law relating to health coverage read The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008: Information for Researchers and Health Care Professionals.

Build Strong Media Relations

Tips for becoming a go-to source for news.

This article is written with the business owner in mind. Yet it seems to me that data providers might well take to heart some of these ideas, especially since some (rightly) complain about the inaccuracies that find their way into stories.

Suggestions such as -
• Become familiar with the journalists you would like to cultivate relationships with.
• Don’t let months pass without contact.
• When you are interviewed, give good quotes.
- seem like great strategies. Not sure about the idea of sending a birthday card, though.

2010 Census Data Products At A Glance

The 2010 data products plan, "2010 Census Data Products At A Glance," is available (in PDF format) on the Internet here.

Data users can access by going to the Census Bureau's home page - www.census.gov, click on "People & Households," click on "Other Products," and then on the first link.

Nearly Half of Parents Get Full Amount of Child Support

About half (46.8 percent) of parents owed child support in 2007 received the full amount, while nearly one-third (29.5 percent) received only a portion of the total due and about one-quarter (23.7 percent) received none of the child support they were owed, according to a new national report from the U.S. Census Bureau. Of the $34.1 billion total child support owed, 62.7 percent was reported as received.

For further details, see Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support: 2007. This report focuses on the child support income that custodial parents reported receiving from noncustodial parents living elsewhere, and other types of support, such as health insurance and noncash assistance.

Latest GAO Report on 2010 Census

2010 Census: Census Bureau Has Made Progress on Schedule and Operational Control Tools,but Needs to Prioritize Remaining System Requirements. GAO-10-59, November 13.

Highlights.

New Yorkers Can Compare School Spending Online

The often opaque world of school finances has become more transparent thanks to Benchmarking New York, which allows New Yorkers to analyze how their school districts spend money and to compare them to nearly 700 other districts around the state.

For the full text of this press release and a regional breakdown of total and instructional spending per pupil, click here.

Contact: Lise Bang-Jensen, 518.434.3100

2010 Census New York Region Decennial 2010 Newsletter - Fall 2009

2010 Census New York Region Decennial 2010 Newsletter - Fall 2009

Thank you for your support of the 2010 Census! Together, we will achieve the best decennial census ever - It's in Our Hands !

For more information about the 2010 Census, please visit the recently relaunched http://www.2010census.gov/.

Hollywood on the Hudson

Personal Income Tax:

Empire State Film Production Tax Credit Report - October 2009
Chapter 60 of the Laws of 2004 created the Empire State Film Production credit to promote film and television production in New York State. The credit is available under Article 9-A, the Franchise Tax on Business Corporations, and Article 22, the Personal Income Tax. As enacted, the credit was limited to $25 million annually and was scheduled to expire on August 20, 2008. The credit has since been amended three times.

Chapters 61 and 62 of the Laws of 2006 increased the annual cap to $60 million and extended the sunset date through December 31, 2011. Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2008 made several significant changes to the program. It increased the credit rate from 10 percent to 30 percent of qualified production costs. It also shortened the credit refund period from 50 percent over two years to 100 percent in one year, Finally, the total amount of credit that can be awarded was increased from $60 million annually in 2008 through 2011 to $65 million in 2008, $75 million in 2009, $85 million in 2010, $90 million in 2011 and 2012, and $110 million in 2013.

Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2009 authorized an additional $350 million allocation for 2009. It also required the use of the credit to be spread across several years, depending on the size of the credit.

The credit is administered by the Governor's Office for Motion Picture and Television Development (MP/TV), which is the entity also responsible for monitoring the status of the credit cap.

Chapter 60 also mandated an annual report evaluating the effectiveness of the tax credit in stimulating the growth of the film industry in the State. This report was prepared by the Office of Tax Policy Analysis (OTPA) and MP/TV using data from applications filed with MP/TV for allocation of film production credits.
***
2008-2009 Annual Statistical Report of New York State Tax Collections - Statistical Summaries and Historical Tables

This publication contains a series of statistical tabulations detailing taxes administered by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. The information presented includes revenues and selected tax structure and consumption information for the State's major taxes. It also presents data for some locally imposed taxes.

This edition presents information for New York State Fiscal Year 2008-2009 and some historical statistics. New York State's fiscal year is April 1 - March 31.

To download either or both publications, please visit the State Tax Department website.

Governor's 2010 Census Kickoff

Thursday, the Secretary of State announced the Governor's Executive Order creating the NYS Complete Count Committee at a press conference in Albany. The event was attended by Congressman Paul Tonko, State Assembly member Jack McEneny, the directors of the Boston and New York Census Regional Offices, state agencies, and members of the media. You can view the event here. (35 minutes)
(Uses Windows Media)

Higher State Poverty Rates Based on Alternative Measure

Source: Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)

The percent of Americans living in poverty is higher than the current poverty measure captures, according to a new report that, for the first time, lists how poverty rates change in each state using a modern poverty measure.

The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) compiled the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) calculations of each state’s poverty rate using a Census web tool and published these calculations in Measure by Measure: the Current Poverty Measure v. the National Academy of Sciences Measures.

“The current federal poverty measure is bereft in many ways,” said Dorothy Smith, the report’s author. “It only considers the cost of food, but not other basic living expenses. And it doesn’t count other sources of income and programs designed to lift people out of poverty, such as tax credits and Food Stamps.”

Measure by Measure provides each state and the District of Columbia two additional poverty rates using poverty measures based on NAS recommendations. The NAS poverty measure captures median spending by a family of four on food, clothing, shelter and other needs. Under this measure, income is broadly defined to include such non-cash resources as tax credits, and Food Stamps while subtracting expenses such as child care and medical expenses. The second measure adds an adjustment for the geographic differences in the cost of housing.

Public School Graduates and Dropouts: School Year 2006-07

This First Look report presents the number of high school graduates, the Averaged Freshman Graduation Rate (AFGR), and dropout data for grades 9 through 12 for public schools during the 2006-07 school year. State education agencies (SEAs) provided the data to the Common Core of Data (CCD) nonfiscal survey.

Sources of Health Insurance, Characteristics of the Uninsured

This Issue Brief provides historic data through 2008 on the number and percentage of nonelderly individuals with and without health insurance. Based on EBRI estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s March 2009 Current Population Survey (CPS), it reflects 2008 data. It also discusses trends in coverage for the 1994–2008 period and highlights characteristics that typically indicate whether an individual is insured. HEALTH

COVERAGE RATE CONTINUES TO DECREASE: The percentage of the nonelderly population (under age 65) with health insurance coverage decreased to 82.6 percent in 2008. Increases in health insurance coverage have been recorded in only four years since 1994, when 36.5 million nonelderly individuals were uninsured; in 2008, the uninsured population was 45.7 million.

EMPLOYMENT-BASED COVERAGE REMAINS DOMINANT SOURCE OF HEALTH COVERAGE, BUT CONTINUES TO SLOWLY ERODE: Employment-based health benefits remain the most common form of health coverage in the United States. In 2008, 61.1 percent of the nonelderly population had employment-based health benefits, down from 68.4 percent in 2000. Between 1994 and 2000, the percentage of the nonelderly population with employment-based coverage expanded.

PUBLIC PROGRAM COVERAGE IS GROWING: Public program health coverage expanded as a percentage of the population in 2008, accounting for 19.4 percent of the nonelderly population. Enrollment in Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program increased, reaching a combined 39.2 million in 2008, and covering 14.9 percent of the nonelderly population, significantly above the 10.5 percent level of 1999.

INDIVIDUAL COVERAGE STABLE: Individually purchased health coverage was unchanged in 2008 and has basically hovered in the 6–7 percent range since 1994.

MOST/LEAST LIKELY TO HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE: Full-time, full-year workers, public-sector workers, workers employed in manufacturing, managerial and professional workers, and individuals living in high-income families are most likely to have employment-based health benefits. Poor families are most likely to be covered by public coverage programs such as Medicaid or S-CHIP.

RETHINKING THE VALUE OF OFFERING HEALTH INSURANCE: Research illustrates the advantages to consumers of having health insurance and the benefits to employers of offering it. In general, the availability of health insurance allows consumers to avoid unnecessary pain and suffering and improves the quality of life, and employers report that offering benefits has a positive impact on worker recruitment, retention, health status, and productivity. Employers may believe in the business case for providing health benefits today, but in the future they may rethink the value that offering coverage provides, especially if health costs continue to escalate sharply or if health reform changes the value proposition.

College Towns Are Undiscovered, Affordable and Stable Markets For Home Buyers

The annual College HPCI released by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC provides an apples-to-apples comparison of similarly sized 2,200 square foot, four-bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom homes in college markets home to the 120 Football Bowl Subdivision schools. This year, Akron, Ohio (University of Akron) is ranked as the most affordable college town, where a typical four-bedroom home costs $121,885. Muncie, Ind. (Ball State University) took the No. 2 spot at $144,996. Ann Arbor, Mich. (a quintessential college town home to the University of Michigan) came in as the No. 3 most affordable college market, where the sample size home only costs $148,000.

Overall, the 2009 College HPCI revealed that real estate buyers can find a typical four-bedroom home for less than $250,000 in 62 percent of the college markets surveyed (72 total), including iconic American college towns such as:

* Syracuse, N.Y (Syracuse University): $171,711
* South Bend, Ind. (University of Notre Dame) $183,938
* Athens, Ga. (University of Georgia): $205,862
* Oxford, Miss. (University of Mississippi): $212,000
* Knoxville, Tenn. (University of Tennessee): $223,850

Further research indicates that the charm and affordability of college towns is appealing to more than just students. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2008 American Community Survey; Austin, Texas (University of Texas), Provo, Utah (Brigham Young University), and Raleigh, N.C. (North Carolina State University) were among the metropolitan cities with the greatest population growth in 2008. In all three rising cities, home buyers can find a four-bedroom home for very a reasonable price; only $226,642 in Austin; $231,000 in Provo; and $241,462 in Raleigh.

Housing Stats

Since the topic of housing came up at the State Data Center Affiliates meeting last week, thought I'd put up a couple Census links:

State Housing Unit Estimates: 2000 to 2008

Quarterly Vacancy and Homeownership Rates by State and MSA

Contract Reporter

The Contract Reporter is a wonderful tool for small businesses to learn about bidding opportunities from NY state government. Beginning next year the NYSCR will be free to any user. It is a publication that:
* Keeps small businesses apprised of weekly bid opportunities with individual state agencies, public authorities and public benefit corporations.
* Publishes services and technology bid opportunities and notices of upcoming commodity bid openings.
* Is available online.

From the ESD's Div. of Small Business Government Procurement web site:

New York State can help your business sell to state, federal, and local governments -- major purchasers of a wide variety of goods and services. New York State budgets for over $8.5 billion worth of contracts annually. New York schools, colleges, towns, villages and counties also make several billion dollars' worth of procurements each year. This is a significant market for New York companies.

ACS Compass Handbooks: Rural, American Indians

From the Census Bureau:

The Census Bureau recognizes that users of ACS data have varied backgrounds, educations, and experiences. They need different kinds of explanations and guidance to understand ACS data products. To address this diversity, the Census Bureau worked closely with a group of experts to develop a series of handbooks, each of which is designed to instruct and provide guidance to a particular audience. The audiences that we have chosen are not expected to cover every type of data users, but they cover major stakeholder groups familiar to the Census Bureau.

The handbook series is called A Compass for Understanding and Using American Community Survey Data. The specific handbooks are listed below, along with a brief summary of each of the target audiences.
***
The U.S. Census Bureau recently released two new ACS Compass Products handbooks...
What Users of Data for Rural Areas Need to Know introduces the ACS to people who care about, and use, social, demographic, economic, and housing data for small governmental units and rural communities. Using the devise of a single case study, this handbook illustrates a variety of aspects of the ACS and shows how results from the ACS are both similar to, and different from, data formerly gathered in conjunction with the decennial census.

What Users of Data for American Indians and Alaska Natives Need to Know provides an overview of the ACS data produced for the American Indian and Alaska Native populations. It describes the data products, provides information about how to access and use these products, and includes case studies to illustrate how best to use these data. Input from the Census Advisory Committee on the American Indian and Alaska Native Population and other stakeholders suggested the need for these ACS education materials.

10 Questions, 10 Minutes

The 10 questions on the 2010 Census form.

1. How many people lived here on April 1, 2010?
2. Are there other people at the address on that date? (e.g. people staying temporarily)
3. Do you own or rent your dwelling?
4. What's the phone number? (in case Census can't suss out your answers)
5. Name of each person.
6. Each person's gender.
7. Each person's age and date of birth.
8. For each person: Hispanic or not?
9. Each person race or races.
10. For each person; does he or she live elsewhere (and thus might be counted elsewhere)?
Oh and they'll be a question about the relationship of the first person listed to the subsequent people listed.

That's it.

The forms, which are postpaid (i.e., you don't need stamps), are coming late in March. If you mail it back during the first week in April, you severely minimize the need for the Census Bureau to have to send out costly enumerators to knock on your door.

Census Bureau Launches 2010 Census Campaign With New Web Site

The U.S. Census Bureau last week kicked off its communications campaign to reach every resident in America with the launch of its 2010 Census Web site, 2010CENSUS.GOV. The Web site will serve as a platform for a national dialogue about how the census develops a “Portrait of America.”

2010CENSUS.GOV features an animated marquee that symbolizes the Census Bureau’s place at the intersection of the American experience. By clicking on images representative of the population, visitors can view video vignettes that ease fears about the census and encourage participation in the once-a-decade population count. The marquee will evolve over time, bringing the diverse voices of America to the site.

Press release.

Vote - 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

And if you need to find your county board of elections to find polling places, offices to be filled, etc, go here.

Poverty in the United States: 2008

Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists/Secrecy News)

In 2008, 39.8 million people were counted as poor in the United States — an increase of 2.6 million persons from 2007, and nearly the largest number of persons counted as poor since 1960. The poverty rate, or percent of the population considered poor under the official definition, was reported at 13.2%; up from 12.5% in 2007, and the highest rate since 1997. The recent increase in poverty reflects the worsened economic conditions since the onset of the economic recession in December 2007. Many expect poverty to rise further next year, and it will likely remain comparatively high even after the economy begins to recover. The incidence of poverty varies widely across the population according to age, education, labor force attachment, family living arrangements, and area of residence, among other factors. Under the official poverty definition, an average family of four was considered poor in 2008 if its pre-tax cash income for the year was below $22,025. This report will be updated on an annual basis, following release of U.S. Census Bureau annual income and poverty estimates.

Supporting data are based on the following: U.S. Census Bureau, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2008; Current Population Report No. P60-235, September 2009; and unpublished Census Bureau tables, available on the internet here.

Time Change Reminder and Halloween Safety

From USA.gov




Don’t forget about the Time Change on Sunday, November 1. Set your clocks back one hour--the change officially starts at 2:00am on November 1. The majority of the United States observes daylight time, but there are some exceptions, including Hawaii and most of Arizona.
If your kids are going trick-or-treating, check out some Halloween Safety tips. They include:
Ensuring that your child's costume is flame-resistant.
Accompanying young children and ensuring that all children walk along sidewalks.
Instructing children not to enter homes.
Examining all candy before your child eats it.
Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Community Colleges Pave the Way to Upward Economic Mobility

From Pew Charitable Trust:

A report released by Pew’s Economic Mobility Project shows that community colleges are an important stepping stone for students of all backgrounds, income levels and high school achievements to improve their economic mobility prospects. Earning a community college degree boosts earnings by an average of $7,900 annually, an increase of 29 percent over those with only a high school diploma. For low-income, high-achieving high school students in particular, community colleges serve as a springboard to further postsecondary education; more than half eventually transfer to four-year programs, and three-quarters of those who transfer earn a bachelor’s degree.

Full report (PDF) here.

Beige Book – October 21, 2009

Source: Federal Reserve Board

Reports from the 12 Federal Reserve Districts indicated either stabilization or modest improvements in many sectors since the last report, albeit often from depressed levels. Leading the more positive sector reports among Districts were residential real estate and manufacturing, both of which continued a pattern of improvement that emerged over the summer. Reports on consumer spending and nonfinancial services were mixed. Commercial real estate was reported to be one of the weakest sectors, although reports of weakness or moderate decline were frequently noted in other sectors.

Reports of gains in economic activity generally outnumber declines, but virtually every reference to improvement was qualified as either small or scattered. For example, Dallas cited slight improvements residential real estate and staffing firms, while New York noted gains only in a few sectors (predominantly manufacturing and retail). Retail and manufacturing conditions were mixed in Boston, but some signs of improvement were reported. New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, and San Francisco cited small pickups in manufacturing activity. In the Kansas City District, an uptick was noted in technology firms, while services firms posted revenue gains in Richmond. However, conditions were referred to as stable or flat for business services and tourism firms in Minneapolis and agriculture in St. Louis and Kansas City.

The weakest sector was commercial real estate, with conditions described as either weak or deteriorating across all Districts. Banking also faltered in several Districts, with Kansas City and San Francisco noting continued erosion in credit quality (often with more expected in the future). One bright spot in the banking sector was lending to new homebuyers, in response to the first-time homebuyer tax credit. Finally, labor markets were typically characterized as weak or mixed, but with occasional pockets of improvement.

California Would Lose Seats Under Census Change

By SAM ROBERTS, New York Times

A Republican senator’s proposal to count only United States citizens when reapportioning Congress would cost California five seats and New York and Illinois one each, according to an independent analysis of census data released Tuesday. Texas, which is projected to gain three seats after the 2010 census, would get only one.
The proposed change would spare Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan and Pennsylvania the expected loss of one seat each. Indiana, Montana, North Carolina, Oregon and South Carolina would each gain a seat.
If every resident — citizens and noncitizens alike — is counted in 2010, as the Census Bureau usually does, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Utah would gain one seat each and Texas would get three, the analysis found.
Losing one seat each would be Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania, according to the analysis of census data through 2008 by demographers at Queens College of the City University of New York.

-- more here

GAO Report: 2010 Census

2010 Census: Efforts to Build an Accurate Address List Are Making Progress, but Face Software and Other Challenges, by Robert Goldenkoff, director, strategic issues, before the Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. GAO-10-140T, October 21. Highlights.

State of the Blogosphere 2009

From the description by Eric Olsen, Publisher of Blogcritics/Technorati

Earlier this month, denizens of the blogosphere descended on Las Vegas for three days of networking and socializing at the 2009 BlogWorld & New Media Expo. Besides the conference and trade show, there was much to learn from the keynote speakers, and of particular interest was the 2009 State of the Blogosphere delivered by Technorati CEO Richard Jalichandra.

The 2009 State of the Blogosphere

Introduction: Why the results of the survey are displayed according to four different types of bloggers.

Day 1: Who Are the Bloggers? We delve into the demographics.

Day 2: The What and Why of Blogging: Why we do what we do.

Day 3: The How of Blogging: How often we blog, what technologies we use, and whether or not we track our traffic.

Day 4: Blogging Revenues, Brands and Blogs: Branding and monetizing our blogs.

Day 5: 2009 Trends: Political Impact of Blogging, Twitter Usage.

In addition to the survey results, you'll find illuminating interviews with some of the blogosphere's movers and shakers:

Michael Arrington, TechCrunch
Penelope Trunk, Brazen Careerist
Steve Rubel, Edelman Digital, Micro Persuasion
Alex Santoso, Neatorama
Henry Copeland, Blogads
Arianna Huffington, The Huffington Post
Jonathan Salem Baskin, Dimbulb
Mathew Ingram, Toronto Globe and Mail
Seth Godin, Squidoo, sethgodin.typepad.com
Simon Mackie, Web Worker Daily
Dan Gillmor, dangillmor.com
Duncan Riley, The Inquisitr

About the State of the Blogosphere

Since 2004, Technorati's annual State of the Blogosphere report has followed growth and trends in the blogosphere. For the second time, bloggers, generous with their thoughts and insights, were surveyed directly to provide the data for the report. The 2009 State of the Blogosphere survey demonstrates that the growth of the blogosphere's influence on subjects ranging from business to politics to the way information travels through communities continues to flourish. In a year when revolutions and elections were organized by blogs, bloggers are blogging more than ever, and the State of the Blogosphere is strong.

U.S. Religious Landscape Survey

You can find details on the religious composition of the United States, including religious makeup, religious beliefs and practices in the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey. More than a study of religion, the Pew Research survey also includes the social and political attitudes affiliated with religious traditions in the United States. The survey is based on interviews with more than 35,000 Americans.

One element I found particularly interesting is A Brief History of Religion and the U.S. Census. From the document:

The U.S. Census Bureau has not asked questions about religion since the 1950s, but the federal government did gather some information about religion for about a century before that. Starting in 1850, census takers began asking a few questions about religious organizations as part of the decennial census that collected demographic and social statistics from the general population as well as economic data from business establishments...Although the census takers did not interview individual worshipers or ask about the religious affiliations of the general population, they did ask members of the clergy to identify their denomination – such as Methodist, Roman Catholic or Old School Presbyterian. The 1850 census found that here were 18 principal denominations in the U.S.

The same basic questions on religious institutions were included in the 1860 and 1870 censuses. In 1880, census takers started collecting more in-depth information from religious leaders on topics ranging from average worship attendance to church income, expenditures and debt. The scope of inquiry about religion was expanded again in 1890, when census takers gathered information about the number of ministers in each denomination. Classifications for the denominations also were more detailed...

There were no other significant changes in data collection on religious bodies until 1902, when the U.S. Census Bureau was established as a permanent government agency and census officials decided to separate some data collection from the regular decennial census. This led to the statutory creation of the Census of Religious Bodies, which began in 1906 as a stand-alone census to be taken every 10 years.

State Personal Income: Second Quarter 2009

Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis

U.S. personal income grew 0.2 percent in the second quarter of 2009, the first growth in a year for the U.S. and for 15 states, according to estimates released last week by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the first quarter, U.S. personal income fell 2.3 percent.

Hard Times to Diminish Census Response

Hard economic times will likely diminish response rates for the 2010 U.S. Census, government officials predict.

The Census Bureau said Monday that mounting mistrust of government and record numbers of home foreclosures may well dissuade more residents from mailing back Census forms next year, USA Today reported.

More here.

IRS migration data

The IRS has released a new year of state and county level migration flows based on tracking tax returns between 2007 and 2008. As usual, the Missouri Census Data Center has obtained these data and made them available in its public data archive, as well as via its interactive web application that displays a migration profile for any selected county in the U.S.

MDCD used to have to purchase these data on CD-ROM/DVD, but starting this year, the IRS has decided to make the raw files available via a free download site.

You can access the MCDC irsmig data collection, which lets you access the migration profiles menu page.

The States of Marriage and Divorce

Source: Pew Research Center

In Arkansas and Oklahoma, men and women marry young — half of first-time brides in these states were age 24 or younger on their wedding day. These states also have above-average shares of women who divorced in 2007-2008.

It’s the opposite state of affairs in Massachusetts and New York. Their residents marry late — half of ever-married New York men were older than age 30 when they first wed. These states also have below-average shares of men and women who divorced in 2007-2008.

Looking at rates, about 6% of Texans who ever have been married have wed three times or more. That is similar to the national average (5%), but well below the leaders in this category — the neighboring states of Arkansas and Oklahoma — where about 10% of all ever-married adults have had at least three spouses.

Marriage and Divorce: A 50 State Tour

Alternative Income and Poverty Estimates: 2008

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

The Census Bureau is releasing alternative income and poverty estimates covering calendar year 2008. The data were collected from the 2009 Current Population Survey (CPS) Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC). The first set of alternative measures include poverty estimates only and are based on recommendations from a 1995 National Academy of Sciences panel on measuring poverty. These estimates use a broadened definition of income and a set of poverty thresholds that are conceptually consistent with this income measure. The second set of alternative measures includes both income and poverty estimates and shows the impact of cash and noncash benefits and taxes on the distribution of income and prevalence of poverty. The poverty estimates in this series are based on the official poverty thresholds. Both of these alternative measures are similar to estimates released in January 2009 covering calendar year 2007 from the 2008 CPS ASEC.

How to Waste Money and Ruin the Census

New York Times editorial, published October 19, 2009

With the start of the 2010 census just a few months away, Senator David Vitter, a Republican of Louisiana, wants to cut off financing for the count unless the survey includes a question asking if the respondent is a United States citizen. Aides say he plans to submit an amendment to the census appropriation bill soon.

As required by law, the Census Bureau gave Congress the exact wording of the survey’s 10 questions in early April 2008 — more than 18 months ago. Changing it now to meet Mr. Vitter’s demand would delay the count, could skew the results and would certainly make it even harder to persuade minorities to participate.

It would also be hugely expensive.

-- More here.

Eurostat Regional Yearbook 2009

Source: Eurostat

Through graphics and text, the Eurostat regional yearbook 2009 paints a statistical portrait of life in the regions of the European Union’s member states, candidate countries and the EFTA countries. Its 13 chapters are written by specialists and presented in a language accessible to all. The book gives an ideal opportunity to assess the progress made so far in regional policy programmes recently launched as part of the EU’s new cohesion policy. The latest results from the Urban Audit provide a snapshot of city life across the regions.

USA Counties

From the Census Bureau:

USA Counties features over 6,500 data items for the United States, States and counties from a variety of sources. Files include data published for 2008 estimates and many items from the 2000 Census of Population and Housing, the 1990 census, the 1980 census and the 2002, 1997, 1992, 1987, 1982 and 1977 economic censuses.

Information in USA Counties is derived from the following general topics: age, agriculture, ancestry, banking, building permits, business patterns, crime, earnings, education, elections, employment, government, health, households, housing, income, labor force, manufactures, population, poverty, retail trade, social programs, veterans, vital statistics, water use, and wholesale trade.

Files contain a collection of data from the U. S. Census Bureau and other Federal agencies, such as the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Social Security Administration.

Beer

It being October, with its Oktoberfests, er al., I commend to you the Beer Institute, with a great deal of statistics about beer consumption.

Pew Internet & American Life Project

As described by hillsearch.org

If you're interested in learning more about the impact of the internet on families, communities, work and home, check out the Pew Internet & American Life Project. The Project produces reports exploring these topics, including how they impact daily life, education, health care, and civic and political life.

The Pew Internet & American Life Project studies the social impact of the internet, focusing on topics such as health, teens, and broadband. Its three main topic areas are Activities & Pursuits, Demographics, and Technology & Media. The Project provides access to a number of data tools, including research reports and commentary, infographics, trend data, survey questions, and datasets. Data is based on phone surveys, online surveys, and qualitative research.

Recent reports include: The Internet as a Diversion, Teens and Mobile Phones Over the Past Five Years, Wireless Internet Use, Home Broadband Adoption, and The State of Music Online. To see these reports and many more, visit the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

Roundabouts

Here's a list of ALL the roundabouts in the U.S. and Canada. It lists the location, the type of roundabout, and the year it was constructed. It was compiled in 2006, but at least three of the records for Albany County, NY were updated in 2007.

Variation in Insurance Coverage Across Congressional Districts

New data on health insurance coverage from the American Community Survey show extensive variation in rates of private and public coverage and uninsurance across congressional districts in the United States. Rates of private coverage are lowest in districts that have higher poverty rates which tend to be concentrated in the South and West and uninsurance remains most serious in districts with low rates of private coverage. This analysis identifies the districts in which residents would have the most to gain from health reforms that are designed to increase health insurance coverage toward a higher and more uniform national standard

How Well Does Your State Constitution Protect Individual Rights, Limited Government?

Source: Goldwater Institute

In 50 Bright Stars: An Assessment of Each State’s Constitutional Commitment to Limited Government, Goldwater Institute constitutional policy director Nick Dranias assessed and ranked the strength of limited government provisions of each state constitution as currently interpreted in recent court decisions and the quality and philosophy of each state’s judiciary.

I Was On The Radio

I was on Internet radio on Monday, October 5. Don't mind telling you that I was mildly terrified.

Through a series of connections, involving the business.gov website, a woman named Barbara Weltman became aware of me and my connection with the NYS Small Business Development. Her producer, Gloria Luzier, e-mailed me and asked if I would appear on Barbara's radio show, Build Your Business Radio.

I provided a few questions that she might ask me, about the SBDC, the State Data Center and blogs. I got a call about 4:20 pm to make sure I was actually at the appointed place, then again at 4:27. I never talked to Barbara herself before or after the show, but I was in contact with other friendly and helpful people, including Wade Taylor, wsRadio, Operations Officer and Assistant Program Director, who gave me information on how to provide the links below.

SBDCs, State Data Centers, and the Curse of Blogging, Part I - Roger Green

SBDCs, State Data Centers, and the Curse of Blogging, Part II - Roger Green

Have I mentioned that I really HATE the sound of my own voice?

Report on the Taxation of the Telecommunications Industry in New York State

"Chapter 59 of the Laws of 2009, Part NN mandated that the Department of Taxation and Finance, in consultation with the New York State Public Service Commission, conduct a study to examine the assessments, fees, tax rates, and associated policies of the state of New York as they relate to the telecommunications industry. The report" that can be found here is "the result of that mandate.

"The report proceeds by first providing a discussion of the scope and nature of the telecommunications industry in New York. The report then provides a basic discussion of all the taxes, fees, and assessments to which the industry is subject. Finally, the report culminates in the challenging task of presenting a matrix that attempts to show what taxes apply to the various services provided by the industry.

"This report is not an exhaustive examination of the tax issues affecting the telecommunications industry."

America’s Families and Living Arrangements 2007

Highlights of the Census Bureau report include:

* 68% of households in 2007 were family households, compared with 81% in 1970.
* The proportion of one-person households increased by 10 percentage points between 1970 and 2007, from 17% to 27%.
* Between 1970 and 2007, the average number of people per household declined from 3.1 to 2.6.
* Most family groups with children under 18 (67%) were maintained by married couples.
* The vast majority of fathers who lived with their child under 18 also lived with the child’s mother (94%). In comparison, 74% of mothers living with their child under 18 also lived with the child’s father.

State Tax Department Plans Greater Responsiveness

New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Acting Commissioner Jamie Woodward announced this week new initiatives to ensure that the department is accessible and responsive to taxpayers.

To view the entire document please visit here.

Marketing U.S. Organic Foods: Recent Trends From Farms to Consumers

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service

Organic foods now occupy prominent shelf space in the produce and dairy aisles of most mainstream U.S. food retailers. The marketing boom has pushed retail sales of organic foods up to $21.1 billion in 2008 from $3.6 billion in 1997. U.S. organic-industry growth is evident in an expanding number of retailers selling a wider variety of foods, the development of private-label product lines by many supermarkets, and the widespread introduction of new products. A broader range of consumers has been buying more varieties of organic food.

Geography of Homelessness, Part 3

The Homelessness Research Institute at the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) has released the third brief in its Geography of Homelessness series. Part 3: Subpopulations by Geographic Type examines the geographic distributions of three homeless subpopulations: chronically homeless individuals, non-chronically homeless individuals and persons in families with children. Each of these subpopulations' geographic distributions is compared to that of the total homeless population.

"Part 3" goes on to differentiate between sheltered and unsheltered subgroups of the above three subpopulations, eventually making the following determinations:
*The occurrence of unsheltered persons in families who are rurally located is almost double that of their urban counterparts
*66 percent of chronically homeless individuals are unsheltered nationwide
*The "Mostly Rural" category differs from other categories in almost every aspect

Women in the Labor Force

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
From Introduction and Highlights

The past several decades have been marked by notable changes in women’s labor force activities. Women’s labor force participation is significantly higher today than it was in the 1970s, particularly among women with children, and a larger share of women work full time and year round than in past decades. In addition, women have increasingly attained higher levels of education: among women aged 25 to 64 who are in the labor force, the proportion with a college degree roughly tripled from 1970 to 2008. Women’s earnings as a proportion of men’s earnings also have grown over time. In 1979, women working full time earned 62 percent of what men did; in 2008, women’s earnings were 80 percent of men’s.

American Religious Identification Survey 2008

The American Religious Identification Survey 2008 survey was carried out during February-November 2008 and collected answers from 54,461 respondents who were questioned in English or Spanish.

The American population self-identifies as predominantly Christian but Americans are slowly becoming less Christian.

+ 86% of American adults identified as Christians in 1990 and 76% in 2008.
+ The historic Mainline churches and denominations have experienced the steepest declines while the non- denominational Christian identity has been trending upward particularly since 2001.
+ The challenge to Christianity in the U.S. does not come from other religions but rather from a rejection of all forms of organized religion.
+ 34% of American adults considered themselves "Born Again or Evangelical Christians" in 2008.
+ The U. S. population continues to show signs of becoming less religious, with one out of every five Americans failing to indicate a religious identity in 2008.
* The "Nones" (no stated religious preference, atheist, or agnostic) continue to grow, though at a much slower pace than in the 1990s, from 8.2% in 1990, to 14.1% in 2001, to 15.0% in 2008.
* Asian Americans are substantially more likely to indicate no religious identity than other racial or ethnic groups.
+ One sign of the lack of attachment of Americans to religion is that 27% do not expect a religious funeral at their death.
+ Based on their stated beliefs rather than their religious identification in 2008, 70% of Americans believe in a personal God, roughly 12% of Americans are atheist (no God) or agnostic (unknowable or unsure), and another 12% are deistic (a higher power but no personal God).
America’s religious geography has been transformed since 1990. Religious switching along with Hispanic immigration has significantly changed the religious profile of some states and regions. Between 1990 and 2008, the Catholic population proportion of the New England states fell from 50% to 36% and in New York it fell from 44% to 37%, while it rose in California from 29% to 37% and in Texas from 23% to 32%.
Overall the 1990-2008 ARIS time series shows that changes in religious self-identification in the first decade of the 21st century have been moderate in comparison to the 1990s, which was a period of significant shifts in the religious composition of the United States.

NEA Arts Magazine - New Issue

How do you tell a story? Oral storytelling has been practiced for generations around campfires and dinner tables, in barrooms and barbershops. But there are also other ways to tell a story: there is music, there is dance, there is basket weaving and pottery. These too tell the stories of our culture, both individual and shared. The folk and traditional arts, passed down hand-to-hand, from elder to apprentice, bear our nation’s history—our story of a multitude of cultures uniquely stitched together—in songs, in dances, in crafts.

Hispanic Origin Population in the US

National-level tabulations from the Current Population Survey on this population group are shown by a wide range of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. They include information on the generational distribution of the Hispanic population, as well as of specific groups, such as Mexican, Puerto Rican and Cuban. There are also tabulations on educational attainment, nativity and citizenship status, year of entry of the foreign-born, household type, labor force and employment status, occupation, earnings and poverty, housing tenure, mobility and health insurance status.

Holocaust Victims Insurance Act of 1998

From NYLINE:

New York State insurance law was amended in 1998 to address claims by Holocaust victims, survivors and their heirs, that certain insurers doing business in New York, either directly or through affiliates, that issued policies prior to the end of World War II had failed to pay legitimate claims.

Language in legislation emphasizes that, "Outside of Israel, New York is home to the largest number of Holocaust survivors and their heirs in the world."

The Annual Report to the Governor and the New York State Legislature on "The Holocaust Victims Insurance Act of 1998" was issued by the New York State Insurance Department from 1999 through 2009.

The Annual Report, describing the involvement of New York State in the restitution of Holocaust era assets, is available in the New York State Library's digital documents management system.

Nanotechnology-Related Activities in Every U.S. State

Source: Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies

Every state can now lay claim to the nanotechnology revolution.

Data released last month by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) highlights more than 1,200 companies, universities, government laboratories, and other organizations across all 50 U.S. states and in the District of Columbia that are involved in nanotechnology research, development, and commercialization. This number is up 50 percent from the 800 organizations identified just two years ago.

While many of the original “Nano Metro” clusters—areas with the nation’s highest concentration of nanotechnology companies, universities, research laboratories, and organizations—have maintained their prominence in the field, areas such as Boston have moved up in the rankings, while others, such as Raleigh, N.C., have broken into the top-ranked locations for the first time.

+ Map
+ Analysis (PDF)

Fatal work injuries down

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

A total of 5,071 fatal work injuries were recorded in the United States in 2008, down from a total of 5,657 fatal work injuries reported for 2007. While the 2008 results are preliminary, this figure represents the smallest annual preliminary total since the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program was first conducted in 1992. Final results for 2008 will be released in April 2010.

Based on these preliminary counts, the rate of fatal injury for U.S. workers in 2008 was 3.6 fatal work injuries per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers, down from the final rate of 4.0 in 2007.

+ Full Report

Consumer Protection Board "Ask The Expert"

Consumers from across the State are invited to take advantage of the New York State Consumer Protection Board’s (CPB) upcoming Home Improvement Ask the Expert Call-In Day which will take place on September 30, 2009 from 9AM until 2 PM. This free public service program is designed to empower New Yorkers with information and direction as they contemplate small or large home repair and/or improvement projects. New Yorkers with home improvement questions, concerns and problems may call our “Ask the Expert,” toll-free number, at 1-888-351-4648.
As the fall and winter seasons approach, home improvements and repairs are once again on the minds of New Yorkers. Under Governor Paterson, the CPB has created home improvement resources and worked toward stronger consumer protections to prevent scam victimization.
Last year, the CPB created its online “Ask the Expert” program to make it easier for people to obtain answers to home improvement questions. Given its success, we are expanding the project to enable people who may be “Internet-shy” or who have questions which are too difficult or time-consuming to explain in an e-mail to speak to a “live” professional.
Thanks to the generosity of WMHT, the Capital Region’s public television station which is hosting the call bank, New Yorkers will be able to direct their inquiry to home improvement professionals whose areas of expertise include, but are not limited to: kitchen and bath remodeling, plumbing, heating, A/C, sheet metal installation and servicing, construction management, site development, window/door installation, home building, energy-efficiency, home improvement funding for low-income consumers, and improvements on historical buildings.
To bring this event to the people of the State of New York, the CPB is partnering with public and private entities including WMHT, the New York State Builders Association, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, the Division of Housing and Community Renewal, and the Preservation League of New York State.
We are looking forward to helping many New Yorkers who are seeking to preserve the equity in their homes and protect their wallets. Therefore, I am asking your assistance in sharing this information with your colleagues, family, friends and acquaintances. Those who need information before then, may check the Ask the Expert page of the CPB’s website at www.nysconsumer.gov, or may e-mail their question to us at AskTheExpert@consumer.state.ny.us.
Thank you for your interest and support. Together, we can make our phones ring off the hook on September 30th and serve many consumers around the State.

More Walkable Homes Are Worth More

Source: CEOs for Cities

Though housing values are still slow to rebound from the collapse of the real estate market, a new analysis from CEOs for Cities reveals that homes in more walkable neighborhoods are worth more than similar homes in less-walkable neighborhoods, pointing to a bright spot in the residential real estate market.

The report, “Walking the Walk: How Walkability Raises Housing Values in U.S. Cities” by Joseph Cortright, analyzed data from 94,000 real estate transactions in 15 major markets provided by ZipRealty and found that in 13 of the 15 markets, higher levels of walkability, as measured by Walk Score, were directly linked to higher home values...

Walkability is defined by the Walk Score algorithm (http://www.walkscore.com/), which works by calculating the closest amenities – restaurants, coffee shops, schools, parks, stores, libraries, etc. – to any U.S. address. The algorithm then assigns a “Walk Score” from 0-100, with 100 being the most walkable and 0 being totally car-dependent. Walk Scores of 70+ indicate neighborhoods where it’s possible to get by without a car.

By the Walk Score measure, walkability is a direct function of how many destinations are located within a short distance (generally between one-quarter mile and one mile of a home). The study found that in the typical metropolitan area, a one-point increase in Walk Score was associated with an increase in value ranging from $700 to $3,000 depending on the market. The gains were larger in denser, urban areas like Chicago and San Francisco and smaller in less dense markets like Tucson and Fresno.

+ Full Report (PDF)
***
I should note that I find the WALK SCORE measure deeply flawed, as it does not seem to take into account obstacles such as interstate highways. It may only be 1.3 miles from Corporate Woods to the Madison Theater in Albany, but one is not going to walk over I-90 to get there.

Taxpayer Voluntary Disclosure Program Strikes Gold

New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Acting Commissioner Jamie Woodward today announced the first year results of the department's Voluntary Disclosure Program - a unique statutory program that provides amnesty-like benefits to delinquent taxpayers who reveal tax obligations unknown to the state and who voluntarily become tax compliant.

Between July 1, 2008 and July 1, 2009, ...541 taxpayers completed the application process, filed their back tax returns and paid the state $31,333,864. Another 1,305 taxpayers accepted into the program have executed agreements and are in the process of preparing returns for their delinquent taxes.

To view the entire document please visit here.

Well, THAT is Disturbing

Interviews Suspended After Census Worker Bill Sparkman Found Hanged

The FBI is investigating whether Bill Sparkman, 51, was the victim of anti-government sentiment. His body was found near a cemetery in Clay County (KY) Sept. 12 with the letters "Fed" scrawled in his chest.

Immigrant Population Falls in California, Nationwide

From Hispanic Business:

The number of foreign-born immigrants in California dropped by 1.6 percent, to 9.9 million. Nationwide, it dipped by about 0.1 percent, to just under 38 million, or around 12.5 percent of the American population.
...
The figures came from the annual American Community Survey, in which Census officials base their conclusions on a sample of 3 million questionnaires.

Science and Engineering Indicators

Someone looking for average expenditure on Research and Development by industry should consider Science and Engineering Indicators. SEI "is first and foremost a volume of record comprising the major high-quality quantitative data on the U.S. and international science and engineering enterprise. SEI is factual and policy-neutral. It does not offer policy options and it does not make policy recommendations. SEI employs a variety of presentational styles—tables, figures, narrative text, bulleted text, Web-based links, highlights, introductions, conclusions, reference lists—to make the data accessible to readers with different information needs and different information-processing preferences."

Rockefeller Institute Report Shows Smaller Gambling Jackpot for States

State and local government revenues from authorized gambling operations declined by 2.8 percent from 2008 to 2009, marking the first time those revenues have declined in over three decades, according to a new report issued today by the Rockefeller Institute. Data on the decline come as states continue to examine casinos, video-lottery terminals and other gambling operations as potential sources of new revenue — with 25 or more states considering such proposals in the past year.

“The historical tendency for revenues from existing gambling operations to grow at a significantly slower pace than other state revenues may hold important lessons for states as policymakers consider further expansion of casinos, racinos and other gambling activities,” write the report's authors, Lucy Dadayan and Robert B. Ward. “Expenditures on education and other programs will generally grow more rapidly than gambling revenue over time. Thus, new gambling operations that are intended to pay for normal increases in general state spending may add to, rather than ease, long-term budget imbalances.”

To read the report, visit the Institute's Web site.

Statewide County, Municipal Payrolls Added to SeeThroughNY

The names and salaries of more than 179,000 people who worked for New York's county, city, town and village governments in 2008-09 were posted today in a searchable database at SeeThroughNY, the transparency website sponsored by the Manhattan Institute's Empire Center for New York State Policy.

For the full text of this press release and a copy of the report summarizing average wages on a regional basis, click here.

Contact: Lise Bang-Jensen, 518.434.3100

Employer Health Benefits 2009 Annual Survey

This annual survey of employers provides a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage, including premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing provisions, and other relevant information. The survey continued to document the prevalence of high-deductible health plans associated with a savings option and included new questions on health risk assessments. The 2009 survey included 3,188 randomly selected public and private firms with three or more employees (2,054 of which responded to the full survey and 1,134 of which responded to an additional question about offering coverage). Researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation, the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, and Health Research & Educational Trust designed and analyzed the survey.

Here's the bottom line: If the cost of health care continues to rise as fast as it has over the past five years, by 2019, your average American family will be paying $24,180 per year for their policy. If rates continue to rise as rapidly as they have over the past five years, you're looking at $30,803. The current number is $13,375.

Views of Religious Similarities and Differences

Muslims Widely Seen As Facing Discrimination in Pew poll

Eight years after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Americans see Muslims as facing more discrimination inside the U.S. than other major religious groups. Nearly six-in-ten adults (58%) say that Muslims are subject to a lot of discrimination, far more than say the same about Jews, evangelical Christians, atheists or Mormons. In fact, of all the groups asked about, only gays and lesbians are seen as facing more discrimination than Muslims, with nearly two-thirds (64%) of the public saying there is a lot of discrimination against homosexuals.

H1N1 Preparedness Guide for Small Businesses

WASHINGTON— Small Business Administration Administrator Karen Mills and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced the availability of a preparedness guide designed to assist small businesses in planning for the possibility of an H1N1 flu outbreak this fall.

"Small Business owners should take the time to create a plan, talk with their employees and make sure they are prepared for flu season," said Mills. "For countless small businesses, having even one or two employees out for a few days has the potential to negatively impact operations and their bottom line. A thoughtful plan will help keep employees and their families healthy, as well as protect small businesses and local economies."

Outbreaks of H1N1 flu are occurring now across the country and will likely coincide with the return of seasonal flu this fall and winter. The preparedness guide offers small business employers tools and information to help them plan for and respond flexibly to varying levels of severity of an H1N1 outbreak— which may lead to increased absenteeism, and, if the outbreak becomes more severe, may include restricted service capabilities and supply chain disruptions.

Employers are encouraged to put strategies in place now to protect their employees and their businesses in advance of the fall flu season. Included in the preparedness guide are tips on how to write a continuity of operations plan, steps for keeping employees healthy, frequently asked questions about the 2009 H1N1 flu and a list of additional resources that employers can access online.

To download the booklet please visit www.sba.gov/flu.

Director Groves Response to Bob Barr's Criticism of Census in Schools Program

I wish Groves had taken on some of Barr's otherb peculiar points, especially with regard to the ACS.

Census goes too far with children by Bob Barr
8:55 am September 8, 2009,

Child labor has been officially illegal in the United States since the late 1930s; that is, except for the U.S. Census Bureau. The bureau is embarking on a massive, well-funded plan to use schoolchildren in grades k-12 across the country to serve as salespersons for the 2010 census.
In recent decades, the census has become more than the counting of people the Constitution envisioned. It has morphed into a multibillion-dollar project, backed by thousands of bureaucrats and designed to gather for Uncle Sam as much information on as many people as possible. In one respect, this phenomenon is a not-unexpected outgrowth of the natural tendency of government to increase and retain power. As the amount of taxpayer dollars flowing into and out of the federal government has
expanded exponentially in recent years, so also has the carrot-and-stick the feds employ to pressure states and local communities to do its bidding. Thus, the census is now marketed to states, counties, cities, families and even individuals as a way for the benevolent government to make sure everyone gets their “fair share” of federal largesse.
Viewed thusly, it is perhaps understandable the government has decided that limiting itself to a single, decennial census is inadequate. Enter the perennial census. Now, in addition to the required decennial census, we have the “American Community Survey,” which includes page after page of probing questions about income, employment, driving habits, household appliances and much more.
Apparently the process of gathering all this “vital” information is just too much for the overburdened government to handle, so the Census Bureau brainiacs have decided to tap into America’s vast labor reserve — our schoolchildren.
While the government used schools to a limited extent in the 2000 census, the bureau’s new program, called “2010 Census: It’s about us,” takes “us” to a new level. Students in all grades would study the census using government-provided materials. They would discover the “value” of the census to their families and to their communities. They would engage in “celebrations” about the census; and would be given take-home materials with which to “encourage census-related conversations at home.”
Public schools will be easy to reach and enlist in this program; but the bureau recognizes that for maximum impact, private schools and even home-schooling parents need to be brought on board. Therefore, the official Web site includes in its plan getting materials to all private schools and even home schoolers via the Internet. Parent-teacher associations are encouraged to become “official partners.”
The government says it wants to “encourage students to collect data on their own,” but under this program it will be teaching young children how to be government collectors of information. The bureau even has plans to enlist Sesame Street characters to enhance the learning experience of becoming a government snoop.
The feds increase the likelihood of squeezing every bit of information possible out of everyone filling out the census form by reminding us that failure to comply can be considered a criminal offense. With this in mind, perhaps the administration will be deputizing the new cadre of junior bureaucrats.
This truly is no laughing matter, and parents across the country should stop this thinly veiled effort to teach their children the fun of gathering information for the government. At a minimum, parents should keep their children home from school during “Census in Schools Week” (to occur sometime between January and March 2010, according to the “It’s about us” Web site). There are any number of conversations that ought to occur around the family dinner table that are far more important than why government-funded programs are so vital and why we should happily give to
the government all the private information it wants.



The following response was posted on the Atlanta Journal Constitution's site by Director Groves in response to Bob Barr's blog today criticizing the 2010 Census and the Census Bureau's Census in Schools program:

"Local school districts choose to teach Census in Schools lessons to help children learn math, geography, social studies, and science as well as the fact their Constitution was the first in world history to use a census to empower the governed over their government. The Census is the one civic moment that involves each and everyone of us, especially the children, who are historically undercounted in every census since the first in 1790. Census In Schools enjoys strong bipartisan support from Congress and educators because it teaches children about the American Constitution. Article I, Section II of the Constitution mandates a decennial Census to ensure the fair and equitable apportionment of political representation. We are raising awareness of every person in America, adults, children, and the elderly included, that the Census is coming next March and that it is one of the shortest in history. It is just 10 questions and takes about 10 minutes, and only Census Bureau employees will be collecting the forms, not children."

New Census Data On Uninsured Americans

The number of uninsured individuals rose from 45.7 million in 2007 to 46.3 million in 2008. This increase of 0.6 million would have been much worse without a growth in government-provided insurance of 4.4 million, including a 3.0 million increase in coverage under Medicaid. In contrast, employment-based coverage declined by about 1.1 million, from 177.4 million in 2007 to 176.3 million in 2008.

MORE

A World of Meters

Worldometers is "part of the Real Time Statistics Project, which is managed by an international team of developers, researchers, and volunteers with the goal of making world statistics available in a thought-provoking and time relevant format to a wide audience around the world."

Other real time meters
U.S. National Debt Clock

Misery Index

Cost of War

From Farm to School

A Guide and Directory for Schools, Institutions, Organizations and Farmers for Buying and Selling Local Meat and Produce in the Hudson Mohawk Region (30 pp, PDF). This resource assists schools, institutions, organizations and farmers when buying and selling local meat and produce in this region. Revised August 2009.

Although this publication targets the greater Capital District of NYS, it might contain valuable information for rural clients in other parts of the state.

There are more useful items on the Cornell Cooperative Extension website. Click on "Resources" in the left column, and then click on "Publications."

The college degree

Someone asked, "What do you suggest as the best resource to get a listing of every community college in the US that offers a computer science degree?"

Try the College Navigator from the Dept of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. There is an overall category for computer science programs since they are called different things at different institutions. You can export the search results into a spreadsheet.

The State of the American Worker 2009

Source: American Enterprise Institute

+ Americans still display a high degree of satisfaction with their jobs. In August 2009, 50 percent of employed people told Gallup pollsters that they were completely satisfied with their jobs, and another 37 percent were somewhat satisfied.

+ The level of job satisfaction stands out even more because other polls in this collection show that economic anxiety has risen considerably. In 2009, for example, 31 percent told Gallup they were worried about being laid off, up from 15 percent in 2008. Twenty-seven percent were worried that their hours would be cut back, almost double the 2008 number (14 percent). Forty-six percent reported being worried that their benefits would be cut, up from 27 percent last year.

+ People are even more anxious about the possibility that someone in their family or someone else they know personally will lose a job in the next six months. Sixty percent told RBC/Ipsos interviewers that this was likely in a late July-early August 2009 poll.

+ One thing the vast majority of Americans are not worried about is that their job will be shipped overseas. Only ten percent replied that they were worried this year. Since Gallup began asking this question in 2003, no more than 12 percent have ever been worried that their job will be shipped overseas.

Washington Monthly College Guide and Rankings - 2009

Unlike U.S. News and World Report and similar college guides, this one asks not what colleges can do for you, but what colleges are doing for the country. Are they educating low-income students, or just catering to the affluent? Are they improving the quality of their teaching, or ducking accountability for it? Are they trying to become more productive—and if so, why is average tuition rising faster than health care costs? Every year we lavish billions of tax dollars and other public benefits on institutions of higher learning. This guide asks: Are we getting the most for our money?
National University Rankings

Liberal Arts College Rankings

High Tech by NAICS and SIC Code

Occasionally, I've gotten questions about "technology" or "high tech". While we can get reports, there is no one business code that encompasses such a broad category.

The AeA, formerly the American Electronics Association, "uses 45 SIC codes to define the high-technology industry." The organization recognizes that "these 45 SIC codes do not comprehensively cover the entire high-tech industry as the structure of the SIC system is limited. In an effort to produce solid statistics, AeA's definition consists of SIC codes that fall into three broad categories -- high-tech manufacturing, communications services, and software and computer-related services. It does not include broad categories if the high-tech portion does not represent a clear majority. Also, AeA's definition does not include many 'related' industries, such as biotechnology, engineering services, and research and testing services."

Likewise, "the 49 NAICS codes that AeA has chosen for its definition of high tech." The BLS ALSO has its list of NAICS Codes here.

Children of Immigrants: National and State Characteristics

Source: Urban Institute

Up-to-date state information on children of immigrants is essential for social policies that affect children and families. This brief, accompanying the Urban Institute’s interactive Children of Immigrants Data Tool, describes the national and state characteristics of children of immigrants based on recent American Community Survey data. Since children of immigrants account for almost a quarter (24 percent) of children under age 5, their share in the school-age population will increase, with important implications for education policy. In addition, children of immigrants’ poverty and low-income rates vary across states, highlighting the importance of state and local policies in promoting children’s well-being.

Also visit the interactive Children of Immigrants Data Tool for comprehensive information on the characteristics of children of immigrants nationwide and for individual states and the District of Columbia.