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What are the symptoms of inequality?

The Guardian article, Trump’s ‘cruel’ measures pushing US inequality to dangerous level – UN warns by Ed Pilkington (6/1/18) lists some symptoms two of which are: Americans now live shorter and sicker lives than citizens of other rich democracies; The US incarceration rate remains the highest in the world; The article lacks …

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Do people in poverty work?

The EPI article, 50 years after the Poor People’s Campaign poverty persists because of a stingy safety net and a dysfunctional labor market by Elise Gould and Jessica Schieder (5/24/2018), answers the question with a graph (reposted here) and this: The bottom bar shows us that, among those working-age individuals who …

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What is the state of the Rio Grande?

The NYT article, In a Warming West – the Rio Grande Is Drying Up by Henry Fountain (5/24/2018) answers the question. Even in a good year, much of the Rio Grande is diverted for irrigation. But it’s only May, and the river is already turning to sand. “The effect of long-term warming …

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How old is Arctic sea ice?

The NYT article In the Arctic, the Old Ice Is Disappearing by Jeremy White and kendra Pierre-Louis (5/14/2018) notes In the Arctic Ocean, some ice stays frozen year-round, lasting for many years before melting. But this winter, the region hit a record low for ice older than five years. In fact, …

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What is the Great Gatsby curve?

The Great Gatsby curve represents the correlation between income inequality and intergenerational income elasticity. In short, the greater the income inequality in a country the greater the relationship between a child’s income and their parent’s income. The Atlantic article, The 9.9 Percent Is the New American Aristocracy: The class divide is already toxic, …

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What are the prospects for new college grads?

EPI has an answer with its report Class of 2018 College edition by Elise Gould, Zane Mokhiber, & Julia Wolfe  (3/10/18).  The report has 16 key findings and 10 graphs (the graphs and associated data are available).  For example, Women make up about half of 21- to 24-year-olds, but well over half (57.3 percent) …

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What is the CEO to worker pay gap?

U.S. Publicly held companies now have to report CEO and median worker salaries (this was part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010) and Bloomberg has an article, Alphabet CEO Page Makes a Tiny FractionCompared to Its Median Employee by Alicia Ritcey and Jenn Zhao (5/15/18), with an interactive graph …

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What are the sources and uses of U.S. engergy?

Every year the EIA (U.S. Energy Information Agency) updates their energy flow and consumption diagrams. They are now available for 2017 energy use and the graph here is primary energy consumption by source and sector. For example, petroleum fulfills 37% or our energy use, 72% of petroleum is for transportation, …

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How does the U.S. government spend tax dollars?

Federal government spending is reported on the usgovernmentspending.com website. On the main page you will find this pie chart of fiscal year 2018 (Oct 2017 through Sept 2018). The two biggest categories are health care 22% and pensions including social security 19%, with interest at 6%. For some context you can …

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