Child Care Costs Nearly Doubled in 25 Years

According to a report published earlier this month by the United States Census Bureau titled "Who's Minding the Kids? Child Care Arrangements: Spring 2011" the cost of child care nearly doubled from 1986 to 2011. In 1986, the average family with an employed mother spent $84.30 a week (in 2011 dollars) on childcare compared to $143 in 2011. Despite this dramatic increase in child care costs, the proportion of income spent on child care has remained relatively steady from 6% of the monthly family income spent on child care in 1986 to 7% in 2011. It is also important to note that the wage earned by full-time child care workers has not increased in the past 20 years. According to the United States Census Bureau, in 1990 the average full-time child care worker earned $19,680 (2011 dollars) compared to $19,098 in 2011. Interestingly, it seems the proportion of children cared for by a non-relative in the providers residence declined while the proportion of families who rely on day-care centers or fathers taking care of preschool children has increased. However, despite an increased reliance on organized day care centers, many children are still cared for by relatives. As of 2011, nearly 1 in 4 preschoolers were cared for by a grandparent, about 1 in 5 were cared for by their fathers while their mothers were employed, and 1 in 10 were cared for by a sibling or other relative. For more information on how the demographics of child care has changed, please read the full report at http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/p70-135.pdf.

Spreading the Wealth? 2009 - 2011 Sees Gains for Top 7%

According to data recently released from the U.S Census Bureau and analyzed by the Pew Research Center, 2009 to 2011 (sometimes thought of as the first two years of the recovery) saw mean net worth gains of 28% for the top seven percent of households.  The lower 93%, however, saw net mean losses of 4%.  Putting numbers to the percentages, that accounts for 8 million households in the top seven percent and 111 million households in the bottom 93%.

According to Pew, these difference occurred owing to the changes between the stock and bond market and the housing market;  more affluent families tended to have financial holdings in the stock and bond markets, while less affluent families wealth tends to be stored in their homes.  The ensuing difference in markets let to the top seven percent of households owning 63% of the nation's aggregate wealth in 2011, which was an increase from 56% in 2009.

Low-cost Airline Usage

If air travel is your method of choice, there's no cheaper way than airlines like Southwest Airlines or Ryanair.  Low-cost carriers are used more frequently and are relatively inexpensive -- unless you've got to reschedule that flight, need to carry more luggage, or violate any of a host of fees that add to the ticket's cost.

The Economist, via Amadues, has released a map detailing the range of countries that rely most heavily on low-cost airline services.  Countries that are more red have a higher percentage of citizens that rely on the cheaper alternatives to flying.

The Philippines were the nation with the largest percentage of citizens using budget airlines at 65% of all passengers using these services.  Russia, Japan, and China all had markedly low use, at 5%, 4%, and 1% of passengers using budget carriers, with China's fierce protection of the nation's three major airlines being cited as reasons for low participation.

56% of Americans are Averse to Filing Taxes

  While not exactly groundbreaking, Pew Research Center released a poll detailing that a majority (56%) of Americans do not care for doing their taxes.  Of those averse, 26% hate it and 30% merely dislike the annual chore.  29% say they like it and a small sliver of Americans even enjoy filling out their income taxes (5%).
  Reasons for elation include the refund that's sure to come, one's own skill for filling out taxes, a sense of control, and even the duty to play a fair share to the system.  On the other hand, reasons for consternation include the inherent complications, the time consuming nature, and a marked disfavor with the government's use of tax money.
  Across partisan lines, Democrats are much more likely to enjoy doing their taxes than Republicans, with 40% of Democrats enjoying taxes and 32% disliking the task.  Independents are even less likely to feel joy at the prospect of taxes, with only 31% responding favorably.  Republicans are more likely than either Democrats or Independents to see a failure to report all income as "morally wrong" (at 78%, 68%, and 69% respectively).

Blame Demography for American's Weak Economic Growth

An article recently featured in The Economist explores the ways in which demographic changes have stifled economic growth. Many politicians have noticed the lagging economic growth rate following the greatest recession since WWII and are concerned that this may be the new norm. As The Economist explains, in the past three years the average growth rate stood at 2.2%, which is only slightly more than half the 4.2% averaged after the seven previous recessions. Part of the reason for the slower growth rate is that American's are facing unprecedented levels of debt and businesses are reluctant to spend, but changes in demography are also to blame for the slower recovery.
       The prime working ages are between 25 and 54 however the share of the population under 25 and above 54 continues to grow, causing a decline in overall labor-force participation rates. A few possible solutions are identified in the article to counteract this decline in labor force participation.  These include allowing more immigrants into America, reforming disability benefits to encourage those who are between the ages of 25 and 54 to go back to work, and raising the retirement age to keep workers in the labor force longer.

Support for Same-Sex Marriage On the Rise

In the past decade, support for gay marriage has been steadily on the rise.  According to a comprehensive report done by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, this steady increase has been defined by the generational gap, although all generations have seen increases in support for same-sex marriage.
The Millennial Generation (those born after 1980) has seen the most dramatic shift, rising from 51% favoring legalized same-sex marriages in 2003 to 70% in 2013.  In addition to the substantial increase, the Millennial Generation also makes up a larger percentage of the adult population now than it did in 2003 (tripling from 9% to 27%).

Millennials have not been alone in coming around to legalizing same-sex marriages.  The Silent Generation (1928-1945) has almost doubled its rate of support over the same span of ten years, increasing from 17% to 31%.  Baby Boomers (1946-1964) and Generation X (1965-1980) have seen more modest increases in support from 33% to 38% and 41% to 49%, respectively.

To deepen the understanding of shifting attitudes, surveyors asked respondents whether their views on same-sex marriage had changed or if it had always been that way.  One-in-seven (14%) of the entire population have changed their minds to support same-sex marriage (this accounts for 28% of all proponents of same-sex marriage).  The main reason for changing one's mind, according to respondents, was knowing someone who was homosexual (32%), while a close second was personally growing more open (25%).  Be sure to check out the rest of the report, which shows larger societal responses to homosexuality in general, shifting responses to gay rights issues,and changing religious stances.

All Time Low for "Strong" Catholic Identity

Since the conception of a religious strength question in 1974, the General Social Survey (GSS) has never measured a lower amount of U.S. Catholics that are self-described as "strong" Catholics.  Pew reports that in 2012, the amount of Catholics claiming strong religious identity was 27%.  "Strong" Protestant religious identity has been rising in recent years and was found to be almost double the Catholic numbers with 54% of Protestants claiming strong religious identity in 2012.

In addition, the GSS reveals that both among Protestants and Catholics there are marked correlations between strength of religious identity and church attendance; strong Catholics attend Mass more often than Catholics as a whole with the same trend being apparent for Protestants.  However, strong Catholic respondent's attendance (regular attendance being described as attendance once a week to Mass) has been waning, falling from 85% in 1974 to 53% in 2012.  Protestant fluctuations do not reveal any strong trends, with 55% of strong Protestants attending church once a week in 1974 and 60% in 2012.  When broken down, Protestant divisions show revealing trends.  Evangelical and Black Protestants identify with strong religious identities (57% and 69%, respectively).  Only 35% of Mainline Protestants claim strong religious identity.