Schedule for Week of December 19th: Happy Holidays!

Census Bureau Data: Richest Counties Get Richer, Poorest Get Poorer
Source: ABC News Kentucky Has County With Lowest Median Household Income; Richest 3 in Virginia The rich get richer and the poor get poorer, at least judging by the most extreme neighborhoods for median household income in the latest Census Bureau data. The Census' American Community Survey, released this week, provides detailed neighborhood data, including languages spoken in a home, commute time and income levels. The poorest county, Owsley County, Ky., had the lowest median household income o...

Washington area is wealthiest and most educated region in the nation, census data show
The Washington area's affluence and education levels make it the wealthiest and most educated region in the nation, according to Census data released Tuesday that reflect five years of relative prosperity compared with the rest of the country. This Story More D.C. area commuters leaving the driving to others, Census data show Commuters data Poll: Have you changed your commute? Washington area is wealthiest and most educated region in the nation, Census data show U.S. Census Bureau: American C...

The Compromise Tax Bill: Why Something Was Better Than Nothing
If a Compromise by definition is a deal that pleases no one, then the $858 billion tax deal that cleared Congress Thursday night was a rousing success: Not many people feel like celebrating it. Conservatives and liberals both argue that it doesn't go far enough -- in opposing direction, of course -- but those who voted for it on both sides of the aisle agreed that the alternative -- raising taxes for everyone -- was unpalatable while the U.S. struggles to extricate itself from the worst econom...

Census: Rich Areas Richer, Poor Get Poorer
The rich get richer and the poor get poorer, at least judging by the most extreme neighborhoods for median household income in the latest Census Bureau data. More Video ...

Dollar Gains as Economic Recovery Boosts Demand for U.S. Assets
Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) -- The Dollar rose for a second week against the Euro as Treasury yields reached a seven-month high on stronger-than-forecast economic data and concern Europe’s Debt crisis will spread boosted demand for the U.S. currency. The greenback touched an almost three-month high against the yen this week as Treasury yields lured buyers and President Barack Obama signed into law an $858 billion Tax Cut bill. The Euro dropped to a two-week low against the dollar on concern an agr...

A matter of creating more job growth
Labor Unions have a long history of establishing a work environment in this country that is fair, equitable and prosperity-based. It might be hard to imagine our largely middle-class way of life without the fights that were championed by labor Unions in the early years of their existence. That's exactly why I support the right to work. The basic principle is that workers should have the right to join a union if they choose, but never should be required to do so in order to keep or obtain a job...

Serf And Turf
Don't like the way wealth is distributed? Then you can join congressional Democrats and grump about it, or you can get some wealth for yourself. Ahh, if only that were true. The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that real median household income in the United States in 2009 was $49,777, not statistically different from the 2008 median. The nation's official Poverty rate in 2009 was 14.3 percent, up from 13.2 percent in 2008 — the second statistically significant annual increase in the po...

Black segregation falls, but Latino and Asian separation up
California's relatively small and slow-growing black population is experiencing far less residential segregation that it did in years past, but its rapidly growing Latino and Asian American populations are experiencing more, a new nationwide study of housing patterns indicates. The study, "Racial and Ethnic Separation in the Neighborhoods: Progress at a Standstill," was written by John R. Logan of Brown University and Brian J. Stults of Florida State University, was based on data from decennia...

Family Report Shows Brokenness in U.S. Homes
Only 45 percent of American teenagers have spent their childhood with both parents legally married to one another, according to a recent report. The Family Research Council's "U.S. Index of Belonging and Rejection" also found that 55 percent of U.S. teenagers live in families where their biological parents have rejected each other. Read the entire report here . "We have undertaken this study because, bad though it may be, the out-of-wedlock Birth Rate is not the key measure of family intactne...

More D.C. area commuters leaving the driving to others, census data show
Network News X Profile View More Activity READ MORE Traffic & Roads See the latest alerts, a construction calendar, traffic cams and more to help you get around Washington. >> Dr. Gridlock is here to help >> Get transit tips | Traffic By the numbers DataPost Looking for research help, deeper understanding of the day's news, or do you just like numbers? Here's are some of the most interesting, searchable databases developed by The Washington Post and other local and national organizations ...

Mass. expected to lose House seat through Census
BOSTON — Massachusetts is expected to lose a Congressional Seat when the new Census figures are released. The U.S. Census Bureau will release the results of its once-a-decade count at 11 a.m. Tuesday, and all signs are toward a population shift from the North to the South — and a shift in U.S. House seats along with it. Massachusetts currently has 10 House seats. If, as expected, it loses one on Tuesday, state lawmakers will have to decide how to get rid of one congressman. Populati...

Americas 10 Poorest Counties in Appalachia, Deep South or on Indian Reservations
Friday, December 17, 2010 By Dan Joseph (CNSNews.com) - America’s 10 poorest counties, both in terms of the percentage of those living below the Poverty level and median household income, lie either on Indian Reservations, are in the Deep South or are found in the Coal Mining areas of eastern Kentucky.  According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Small Area Poverty and Income Estimates for 2009, the 10 U.S. counties with the highest percentages of their population living in Poverty are: 1. Z

Mass. expected to lose House seat through Census
BOSTON — Massachusetts is expected to lose a Congressional Seat when the new Census figures are released. The U.S. Census Bureau will release the results of its once-a-decade count at 11 a.m. Tuesday, and all signs are toward a population shift from the North to the South — and a shift in U.S. House seats along with it. Massachusetts currently has 10 House seats. If, as expected, it loses one on Tuesday, state lawmakers will have to decide how to get rid of one congressman. Populati...

Why the Census may be bad news for Missouri Democrats
WASHINGTON — The Census will make clear on Tuesday what has been speculated about in Missouri political circles for a while: The state could lose a Congressional Seat effective the 2012 Elections. Democrats could be most at risk. Going into the 2011 Congress, they will hold only three seats in the nine-member House delegation because the party just lost Rep. Ike Skelton's district in the November Midterm Elections. But they might have trouble keeping that many. It depends on how the Rep...

Feds Force Oklahoma Bank To Remove Crosses, Bible Verse
Federal Examiners Say Religious Decoration Inappropriate Perkins, Oklahoma -- A small-town bank in Oklahoma said the Federal Reserve won't let it keep religious signs and symbols on display. Federal Reserve examiners come every four years to make sure banks are complying with a long list of Regulations. The examiners came to Perkins last week. And the team from Kansas City deemed a Bible verse of the day, crosses on the teller's counter and buttons that say "Merry Christmas, God With Us." wer...

Feds Force Okla. Bank To Remove Crosses, Bible Verse
PERKINS, Okla. -- A small-town bank in Oklahoma said the Federal Reserve won’t let it keep religious signs and symbols on display. Dec. 14: Police Raid 'Sex Abuse Compound,' Arrest 11 Slideshow:Okla. Delinquent Sex Offenders Slideshow:Who Got Arrested? Oklahoma Mugshots Federal Reserve examiners come every four years to make sure banks are complying with a long list of Regulations. The examiners came to Perkins last week. And the team from Kansas City deemed a Bible verse of the day, cro...

After Outcry, Feds Back Down; Banks Can Display Crosses
PERKINS, Okla. -- The small-town bank in Oklahoma will be able to restore its Christian signs and symbols after all, thanks in part to public outcry against the Federal Reserve. The president of Payne County Bank, Lynn Kinder, said he spoke with the second in command at the Federal Reserve late Thursday evening. Both sides agreed to work out the issue. "The federal reserve immediately took action, " Kinder said in a statement. "And allowed us to restore our Christian display of items and verses ...

When the Fed gets stupid: Regulators require private bank to take down references/bible verses concerning Christmas.
Government out of control? This bank is a private entity. Where the government believes they have the right to do this is yet another sign that they are simply out of control. With no evidence of Discrimination or coercion, the fed's actions here were totally and completely inappropriate, and this should be fought everywhere. I really don't give a damn that a bank uses or has religious symbols or verses... regardless of the religion. This is way over the line, and these clowns should be smac...

Separation of church and state? Guess again...
Separation of church and state? Guess again... Most have heard the dog eared allegations of the required constitutional Separation of Church and State before, but what about when the state applies that separation to private institutions? Read on... A small-town bank in Oklahoma said the Federal Reserve won’t let it keep religious signs and symbols on display. Federal Reserve examiners come every four years to make sure banks are complying with a long list of Regulations. The examiners ca...

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays? Americans Divided on That, Too
As if Americans weren't divided enough, even in this season celebrating peace and good will, the public is split over whether shops should greet customers by saying "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays." Just under half (49 percent) of those surveyed in a new poll said stores should have a "Merry Christmas" greeting policy, while 44 percent say businesses should opt for the more generic "Happy Holidays" or "Season's Greetings" out of respect for people of different faiths. Robert Putnam of Harv...

How Many Jobs Will Obama's Tax Deal Create or Save? At Least One
The $858 billion Compromise tax bill passed the House Thursday at midnight, and is on its way to President Obama's desk. With its passage, his Reelection is more in the bag than ever: The bill will boost GDP and job growth, and if you plug the forecasts for its effects into Yale Professor William C. Fair's economic model -- which has a great record for predicting Presidential Election results -- you get an Obama win in 2012. Here are some key provisions of the bill: Continuation of current fed...

Why the Tax Compromise Won't Work
Many on the right, and particularly those who do not truly understand supply-side economics, are propagating the idea that the extension of the Bush Tax Cuts will bolster investment by business and will trigger a wave of economic activity, thereby helping to pull the U.S. out of its worst economic malaise since Jimmy Carter. This conclusion is wrong. Moreover, by propagating this pseudo-supply side position, proponents have needlessly made Republicans vulnerable to flanking maneuvers by America...

Guest Post: Extreme Inequality Helped Cause Both the Great Depression and the Current Economic Crisis
→ Washington’s Blog It is clear that when banks become too big, it harms The Economy. Economist Steve Keen says that “a sustainable level of bank profits appears to be about 1% of GDP”, and higher bank profits lead to a Ponzi economy and a depression. But most mainstream economists dismiss the idea that wealth inequality among individuals causes economic crises. Of course, some ideologues will argue that even discussing inequality is waging class warfare, and smacks of an attac...

Nominal GDP Growth Targeting
In 1997, Ben Bernanke and Frederic Mishkin explained why they do not think that targeting nominal GDP growth is better than targeting Inflation: Is Inflation the Right Goal Variable for Monetary Policy? The consensus that monetary policy is neutral in the long run restricts the set of feasible long-run goal variables for monetary policy, but inflation is not the only possibility. Notably, a number of Economists have proposed that central banks should target the growth rate of nominal GDP rathe...

Stores see economic divide as the recession recedes
WASHINGTON — A new division is emerging in America between those who have moved on from the Recession and those still caught in its grip. This Holiday Season, the two worlds have been thrown into stark relief: At Tiffany’s, executives report that sales of their Most Expensive merchandise have grown by double digits. At Wal-Mart, executives point to shoppers Flooding the stores at midnight every two weeks to buy baby formula the minute their unempl...