(WSJ graphic) – “New York had its safest decade in recorded history. Fire deaths, murders and other crimes were down.” News release: “Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly and Fire Commissioner Salvatore J. Cassano today announced that near record levels for public safety were maintained in 2011, with crime on the decline… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: December 2011
LendingTree.com: Hawaii Leads Nation with Highest Average Closed Home Loan Amount
PRNewswire: “With mortgage rates continuing to be near record lows, LendingTree.com, the nation’s leading online lender exchange and personal finance resource, today released data highlighting the average loan amount on residential real estate purchases for all 50 states and Washington D.C. for the year. Hawaii, by far, leads the nation with an average home loan… Continue Reading
The Federal Food Safety Working Group Progress Report
The Federal Food Safety Working Group Progress Report, December 2011 “American consumers deserve to trust the safety of the food they purchase for themselves and their families. While we enjoy one of the safest food supplies in the world, it requires constant monitoring. We need to be able to rapidly identify and address risks to… Continue Reading
Census Bureau Projects U.S. Population of 312.8 Million on New Year's Day
News release: “As our nation prepares to ring in the new year, the U.S. Census Bureau today projected the Jan. 1, 2012, total United States population will be 312,780,968. This would represent an increase of 2,250,129, or 0.7 percent, from New Year’s Day 2011, and an increase of 4,035,430, or 1.3 percent, since Census Day… Continue Reading
International Comparisons of Hourly Compensation Costs in Manufacturing, 2010
News release: “Manufacturing hourly compensation costs in the United States in 2010 were lower than in several northern and western European countries, Australia, and Canada, but higher than in the United Kingdom and 19 countries in southern and eastern Europe, Asia, and South America, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. U.S. hourly compensation costs… Continue Reading
Rising Inequality: Transitory or Permanent? New Evidence from a U.S. Panel of Household Income 1987-2006
Rising Inequality: Transitory or Permanent? New Evidence from a U.S. Panel of Household Income 1987-2006. December 15, 2011. Jason DeBacker (Treasury Department), Bradley Heim (Indiana University), Vasia Panousi (Federal Reserve Board), Ivan Vidangos (Federal Reserve Board) “We use a new and large panel dataset of household income to shed light on the permanent versus transitory… Continue Reading
Treasury Releases Semi-Annual Report to Congress on International Economic and Exchange Rate Policies
News release: “The U.S. Department of the Treasury today released the Semi-Annual Report to Congress on International Economic and Exchange Rate Policies, December 27, 2011 – that is required under Sections 3004 and 3005 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988. The Report covers international economic and foreign exchange developments in the first… Continue Reading
EPIC Sues DHS Over Covert Surveillance of Facebook and Twitter
“EPIC has filed a Freedom of information Act lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security to force disclosure of the details of the agency’s social network monitoring program. In news reports and a Federal Register notice, the DHS has stated that it will routinely monitor the public postings of users on Twitter and Facebook. The… Continue Reading
Prosecutors in State Courts, 2007 and Juvenile Arrests, 2009
Prosecutors in State Courts, 2007 – Statistical Tables: “In 2007, 2,330 state prosecutors offices served state judicial districts in the United States. The offices reported a total estimated budget of $5.8 billion in 2007 and employed nearly 78,000 attorneys, investigators, paralegals, and support staff. State prosecutors closed 2.9 million cases charged as felonies in state… Continue Reading
Pew: As Deportations Rise to Record Levels, Most Latinos Oppose Obamas Policy
As Deportations Rise to Record Levels Most Latinos Oppose Obamas Policy, December 28, 2011 “By a ratio of more than two-to-one (59% versus 27%), Latinos disapprove of the way the Obama administration is handling deportations of unauthorized immigrants, according to a new national survey of Latino adults by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of… Continue Reading
Commentary – Online Archives Disappear Along With Unique Collections
Print libraries, book collections, book shops – targets of fiscal austerity, the growing impact and power of e-books, social media, pay walls, e-commerce structures, and changing values about print media itself – are increasing disappearing. Regardless of the application of specific determining factors, the results are increased thresholds to open access to “knowledge.” There is… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports: Higher Education and Disability, Commercial Spectrum
Higher Education and Disability – Improved Federal Enforcement Needed to Better Protect Students’ Rights to Testing Accommodations, GAO-12-40, November 29, 2011. “Federal enforcement of laws and regulations governing testing accommodations is largely complaint-driven and involves multiple agencies. While Justice has overall responsibility for enforcing compliance under the ADA, Education and HHS have enforcement responsibilities under… Continue Reading
