Patchwork Nation blog
Why Sarah Palin’s ‘Going Rogue’ tour looks like a campaign
Posted by Dante Chinni | 11.20.2009 / 9:58 AM PST
Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin officially launched her “Going Rogue” book tour Wednesday in the western Michigan city of Kentwood, and the crowd, somewhat predictably, went wild. More than 1,000 people were waiting in line before Ms. Palin even arrived, according the Detroit News.
Many commentators have already compared the aesthetics of Palin’s book tour […]
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Economic hardship is now widespread. Is that a good thing?
Posted by Dante Chinni | 11.18.2009 / 8:49 AM PST
As we travel around Patchwork Nation and talk about the good news in the national economy – GDP growth, the improving Dow – we are often met with skepticism. Regardless of what headlines say, many people have yet to sense a turnaround locally.This month’s Economic Hardship Index shows how complicated the national economic picture can […]
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How the recession ‘looks’ in one Boom Town
Posted by Dante Chinni | 11.16.2009 / 9:37 AM PST
This economic downturn looks different depending on where you are.
We’ll focus on the different ways places are hurting Wednesday in our Hardship Index. Here, we’re talking about how the recession actually “looks.”
In Eagle, Colo., a “Boom Town” that saw its population double in the last decade, the streets scenes look surprisingly normal.
There are some small […]
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Why voters’ ages mattered so much in latest elections
Posted by James Gimpel | 11.13.2009 / 11:30 AM PST
The high turnout of older voters and the lighter turnout of the young certainly helps to explain the difference between last year’s presidential election and last week’s Republican victories in the gubernatorial contests in Virginia and New Jersey.
President Obama even had his grass-roots political organization, Organizing for America, involved in those campaigns to mobilize […]
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Some good news regarding unemployment numbers
Posted by Dante Chinni | 11.11.2009 / 8:46 AM PST
The economy is at a tricky juncture. Things are clearly better if you look at some indicators – such as last quarter’s 3.5 percent figure for gross domestic product. But that jump has not manifested itself in a meaningful way – at least not yet.
Consider the unemployment figures for Patchwork Nation in September (the most […]
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Troubles in the border economy
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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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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