All Patchwork Nation blogs
Posted by Dante Chinni | 11.09.2009 / 10:39 AM PST
When you have deep and long-lasting economic problems, they have different effects in Patchwork Nation’s different community types.
In the 210 counties that make up “Immigration Nation,” which are primarily in the Southwest, the economy and immigration are tied closely together. Cross-border traffic is a big economic factor.
In the past two years, as America has struggled […]
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Posted by Kip Ward | 11.07.2009 / 7:25 PM PST
As I write this, lightening cracks the air and the thunder sounds like squadrons of jets making low flybys with some of them crashing… The rain is far beyond buckets pushed into frenzy by wicked Sou’wester winds. It’s now winter on the Oregon coast.
We had interesting guests this last week. Dante Chinni and a group […]
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Posted by Dante Chinni | 11.06.2009 / 9:04 AM PST
With Election Day in the rearview mirror, the Republican Party has conflicted feelings.
The gubernatorial wins in Virginia (expected) and New Jersey (a bit of a surprise) are reassuring. But New York’s 23rd Congressional District, where party infighting helped Democratic candidate Bill Owens, sits out there like a big warning sign.
To recap that race: Conservative Party […]
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Posted by Dante Chinni | 11.04.2009 / 9:00 AM PST
Over the coming weeks, one of the most discussed results from Election Day will probably be the rejection by Maine voters of a law allowing same-sex couples to marry.
After a string of electoral defeats, supporters of gay-marriage rights thought they might have a winner in Maine. The New England state has an ingrained strain of […]
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Posted by Eden Stiffman | 11.02.2009 / 1:21 PM PST
Governor Jennifer Granholm signed a schools budget that contained included a reduction of $165 per student and slashed $51 million in extra funds for 39 districts. Soon after, Granholm ordered another $127-per-student cut because of falling revenue.
“The cuts would have been even worse if the state didn’t have $450 million in federal stimulus money to […]
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Posted by Dante Chinni | 11.02.2009 / 8:49 AM PST
There are three national political races everyone will have their eyes on Tuesday night – the high-profile governor’s races in Virginia and New Jersey and a special election in New York’s 23rd Congressional District.
After the election, the media will sort through the votes and look for a larger political meaning, probably focusing most intently on […]
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Posted by Dante Chinni | 10.28.2009 / 7:52 AM PDT
For months now, the question behind every new piece of economic data has been obvious: Are things getting better or worse?
This month’s Economic Hardship Index, for the first time, may provide a positive answer. By almost every measure in October, the index paints an improving picture in most of our 12 community types. Patchwork Nation […]
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Posted by Dante Chinni | 10.26.2009 / 10:33 AM PDT
The list of problems that President Obama inherited upon arrival office was massive – an economy near collapse, a struggling financial sector, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the H1N1 virus. And the response so far has been a lot of federal spending – well over a trillion dollars.
But is that spending primarily investment for the […]
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Posted by John Schmalzbauer | 10.23.2009 / 4:23 PM PDT
On December 2nd, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin will speak to a capacity crowd at the College of the Ozarks, just 30 miles south of Nixa. According to an October 20th press release, “The ticket line quickly filled, consuming all tickets available to the public.”
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow wasted no time in ridiculing a place […]
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Posted by Dante Chinni | 10.22.2009 / 8:30 AM PDT
When it comes to securing highway funds from the federal stimulus package, there is one clear winner thus far: rural, agricultural America.
The 287 counties identified as “Tractor Country” in Patchwork Nation have received an average of $144 per capita in stimulus highway dollars, according to a new analysis by the Patchwork Nation project and ProPublica, […]
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