Patchwork Nation blog
In NY-23, a potentially troubling preview for the GOP
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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For gay marriage, difficult terrain ahead
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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If NY-23 is a glimpse at 2010, is that good for the GOP?
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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Signs of an improving economy in Patchwork Nation
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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The political perils of stimulus spending
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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Transportation stimulus money heads for farm country
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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Immigration in the 2010 campaign
Posted by Dante Chinni | 10.19.2009 / 9:43 AM PDT
The midterm elections are still more than a year away, and any number of things could be “the issue” for 2010. The economy probably won’t be great. Healthcare reform, regardless of the outcome of the current fight, will be on many minds.
But don’t forget the power of the immigration debate.
In at least one of Patchwork […]
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Is the healthcare debate about reform or Obama?
Posted by Dante Chinni | 10.14.2009 / 7:31 AM PDT
Healthcare reform appears to be moving forward. The Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday passed a bill, and legislation could reach the Senate floor the week after next.
But over the past few months, attitudes in Patchwork Nation have largely settled against healthcare reform. Ten of the 12 community types say they “generally oppose” the reform proposals […]
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Is the recession finally coming to ‘Tractor Country’?
Posted by Dante Chinni | 10.12.2009 / 9:24 AM PDT
As the troubles of the recession have worked their way through the nation, one part of the United States has largely been spared, the agricultural communities we call “Tractor Country.” Those counties, clustered heavily breadbasket states like Nebraska and Kansas, have an unemployment rate that is roughly half the national average (about 5 percent) and […]
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Immigration attitudes in Patchwork Nation
Posted by James Gimpel | 10.09.2009 / 10:15 AM PDT
With the House and Senate getting closer to a vote on healthcare reform, President Obama has already lined up another major legislative priority: immigration reform. Historically, the subject of immigration has elicited as much controversy as anything coming out of the current healthcare debate. Furthermore, opposition to immigration tends to peak during economic downturns, when […]
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Ann Arbor and Sioux Center: big night at the movies
Posted by Dante Chinni | 10.07.2009 / 7:41 AM PDT
In many cases, the cultural differences in our communities stand out the most – more than economic or political differences.
This week, we are traveling with PBS’s “NewsHour” to what may be two of the most culturally different communities in our breakdown: Ann Arbor, Mich., a young and collegiate “Campus and Careers” locale, and Sioux Center, […]
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Detroit’s lessons for industrial America
Posted by Dante Chinni | 10.05.2009 / 7:53 AM PDT
Detroit is in the news again, amid last week’s revelations that US auto sales dropped by 41 percent in September and Michigan’s unemployment rate hit 15.2 percent – the worst of any state in the nation.
The retrenchment of the auto industry is remaking the Detroit metro area, and looking at Detroit through the scope of […]
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One year after the economic meltdown in Patchwork Nation
Posted by Dante Chinni | 09.30.2009 / 7:29 AM PDT
It’s been a year now since the steady economic slowdown of 2008 turned into the economic panic of the decade – marked by the stock market’s plunge and the credit-market freeze.
So Patchwork Nation wanted to look at the economic health of our 12 community types over the past year. As you might expect, there have […]
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Healthcare reform’s big question: What will it cost me?
Posted by Dante Chinni | 09.28.2009 / 8:20 AM PDT
When you get past the $900 billion price tag and how things like the “health insurance exchange” work, the math behind the 2009 healthcare reform debate is actually pretty simple.
There are about 46 million Americans without insurance, and, for most of them, the idea of reform is tantalizing. For the 250 million with coverage any […]
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Sagging home prices as the economy tries to recover
Posted by Dante Chinni | 09.23.2009 / 7:37 AM PDT
A look at how home prices have fallen in Patchwork Nation’s community types shows how wide and varied the declines have been in the recession – and what they may mean for any recovery.
Some of the bigger drops have been in the community types that drive consumer spending. And the places at the […]
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