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Update: Romney’s economic advantage in Virginia?

Quinnipiac University released it’s latest poll of Virginia’s registered voters with President Obama holding a 47 to 42 percent lead over Republican challenger Mitt Romney in a match-up.  Obama has maintained a consistent lead over Romney in all Quinnipiac polls since the beginning of the year, but there is one question that I am looking at […]

The End of the American Dream?

Although the recession is officially over, recent jobs reports, stock market volatility, and other news indicate continued struggles and heightened insecurity for nearly all demographic groups: U.S. teens face their highest jobless rates in decades and nearly half of high school graduates who were unable to attend college are seeking full-time employment. While job prospects […]

The nation’s changing political topography

For 2012 election-related commentary, please see these recent posts : Forget Ohio, it’s all about Virginia…and demographics Virginia Votes 2012 Virginia Votes 2012:  Turnout across localities Lower turnout in 2012 makes the case for political realignment in 2008 After posting Climbing Mount NoVa in 2012 a few weeks ago, I had people ask to expand my scope […]

Computers Really Are Taking Our Jobs

The last great recession began in December 2007 and officially ended in June 2009. But it doesn’t feel like it’s over. Even though productivity and in many cases corporate profits have rebounded, unemployment and underemployment remain high. We have seen this pattern after each recession since the 1990s and it has been dubbed “jobless recovery.”There […]

How we learned to stop worrying and love the American Community Survey

I don’t like filling out surveys as much as the next guy.  But I wouldn’t think the world would come to an end if I was told I had to do so.Yet, some of rhetoric coming from Right-wing blogs and the Republican Party would have us believe that the U.S. Census Bureau and the American Community Survey (ACS) are the […]

Climbing Mount NoVa in 2012

For 2012 election-related commentary, please see these recent posts : Forget Ohio, it’s all about Virginia…and demographics Virginia Votes 2012 Virginia Votes 2012:  Turnout across localities Lower turnout in 2012 makes the case for political realignment in 2008 As part of my larger work on the 2012 election in Virginia (which I plan to release […]

Racial Segregation in Virginia’s Schools

Last week, May 17 to be exact, marked the anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, the 1954 Supreme Court case that declared racially segregated schools “inherently unequal.” Reading an op-ed this weekend that relayed some of the benefits of racially integrated schools piqued my curiosity about the status of school segregation in […]

Virginia’s Changing Population Growth Trends

Interested in our most recent work on population projections and estimates? See it all here.The Census population estimates for 2011, released early in April, received a good deal of attention in the media, in large part because the estimates showed a noticeable change in population growth patterns from those of the last decade. Growth from […]

Are Baby Boomers financially ready for retirement?

In her post “How old is old? Is 80 the new 65?”, Susan discussed how increases in longevity have dramatically increased the typical years lived post-retirement.  The average 65-year-old retiree is now expected to survive until age 84.  These changes mean that retirees need increasing amounts of money to afford a comfortable retirement and provide […]

Historic Mexican Immigration Wave Comes to a Standstill

The Pew Hispanic Center recently released a report about Mexican immigration to the United States.  The report showed that net migration from Mexico has fallen to zero. Here are some interesting facts that the researchers found using demographic data from both the United States and Mexico: In the last four decades, millions of Mexicans migrated […]