Parsing U.S. Poverty at the Metropolitan Level
A Metro Lens on the New National Poverty Data
The release of new Census Bureau poverty data yesterday confirmed suspicions about the state of the economy for the nation’s most vulnerable citizens: even as GDP growth resumed in 2009, things continued to deteriorate at the bottom of the ladder. The U.S. poverty rate rose from 14.3 percent in 2009 to 15.1 percent in 2010, reaching its highest point since 1993. READ MORE >>
Obama’s Jobs Bill: Will It Reduce Metro Unemployment?
In his speech before Congress last night, President Obama argued to a somewhat skeptical public the role of the national government in responding to the continuing employment crisis. To effectively address the crisis, however, it helps to start from a shared understanding of what the problem is. And on this count, there’s some disagreement, even among the experts. READ MORE >>
Back to School for Kids and Early Childhood Teachers
My 4-year-old daughter started pre-kindergarten at a new school this past week. It was exciting and different for her, but at the same time, sort of old hat. Because both her mom and I work full-time, she’s been in some sort of institutional setting every weekday since she was 3 months old. That means for nearly two-thirds of her days on Earth, our daughter has been entrusted to someone else’s care. READ MORE >>
A Rural Economic Forum in Metropolitan Iowa
The New Yorker Hearts Suburbs
Metropolitan Boston ... #winning
with Carey Anne Nadeau READ MORE >>
Maintenance on Silver’s Transit Line
Late last week, our recent report Missed Opportunity: Transit and Jobs in Metro America came in for some bumps and bruises on Nate Silver’s thoughtful and well-known political blog READ MORE >>
Last fall, I left my rather antiquated PDA behind and finally joined the ranks of iPhone users (thank you, Brookings). An iPhone 4, no less. READ MORE >>
Budget 2012: Education and the Audacity of Hope
As seasoned observers have acknowledged, a sharply divided Washington makes President Obama’s budget this year at least as much a political act as a policy one. Ambitious new initiatives stand little chance at passage. Yet it’s still worth asking how the administration sees education through a political lens. After all, President Obama identified education as one of the central pillars for investment in his State of the Union call to “win the future.” READ MORE >>
