Final Links Round-up

Election
The Electoral Map - Presidential Race Ratings and Swing States - Election 2012 - NYTimes.com:

9 Swing States, Critical to Presidential Race, Are Mixed Lot - NYTimes.com


Politics
Obama’s Watershed Move on Gay Marriage - NYTimes.com


Environment
How Green Are Electric Cars? Depends on Where You Plug In - NYTimes.com
-includes this map of the amount of greenhouse gases (in mpg equivalent) released by driving an electric car in various cities across the country

U.S. Slaps Tariffs on Chinese Solar Panels - NYTimes.com
-Good for manufacturers, but bad for installers and consumers


Economics
Coming - ‘Taxmageddon’ - NYTimes.com
-excellent graph of tax rates by income percentile from 1960-2004

Easy Useless Economics - NYTimes.com
-Krugman argues that a lack of jobs, not debt, is our biggest economic problem

Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States Most Upwardly Mobile - NYTimes.com
-A new report finds that NY, NJ, and MD had the most upward mobility over the past 10 years while LA, OK, and SC had the least

Free exchange: Zero-sum debate | The Economist
"Economists are rethinking the idea that capital should not be taxed"




Health
Do We Need More Advice About Eating Well? - Room for Debate - NYTimes.com

Medicare To Tie Doctors' Pay To Quality, Cost Of Care - Kaiser Health News
-here's a related sample physician feedback form on their use of patient services and the associated costs

Why French Parents Are Superior (in One Way) - NYTimes.com
-"I think North American parenting at its best is, largely, better for kids. But there is one exception: food."

Nashville Mobile Market's message spreads | The Tennessean | tennessean.com

Food Deserts and Obesity Role Challenged - NYTimes.com

Childhood Obesity
-the official HHS report

Study Finds Wide Variations in Salt Content of Fast Food - ABC News
-the same menu items at the same chains contain more salt in the US

A Mathematical Challenge to Obesity - NYTimes.com
-Mathematicians say the main reason obesity has risen is that food is cheaper and more plentiful



Education
Mayor Dean to be called to testify in Metro schools redistricting trial | The Tennessean | tennessean.com


How ‘early warning systems’ are keeping kids in school - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post




Poverty
The Power of Nursing - NYTimes.com
-discusses the remarkable results of the Nurse-Family Partnership program and the intermittently successful attempts to replicate it

Poor girls aren't condemned to pregnancy, poverty - CNN.com
A new study finds that pregnant teenagers who miscarry don't end up any better off than those who give birth, but one commentator responds that doesn't mean teen pregnancy doesn't hurt girls


Other
Unauthorized Immigrant Population: National and State Trends, 2010 | Pew Hispanic Center
-the population of unauthorized immigrants declined from 2007 to 2010

Rapid Construction Techniques Transform Infrastructure Repair - NYTimes.com
-after the MN bridge collapse (focusing event), MA and other states began examining their own bridges more closely, but the also didn't want to close down roads for months or years at a time . . . the solution in some areas are pre-fabricated bridges/roads that can often be installed in one weekend


Life after College
What They Don't Tell You at Graduation - WSJ.com
by Charles Wheelan (hint: that name should ring a bell)

The Downside of Cohabiting Before Marriage - NYTimes.com

Links, 4-11-12

Rick Santorum has dropped out of the race, only a few days after Gingrich declared that Romney was "conservative enough" to win the Republican nomination.

President Obama has gone on the offensive against Paul Ryan's budget plan (calling it "thinly veiled social Dawinism") and is trying to tie Mitt Romney to the plan.  The Economist wonders whether that's a winning strategy.

Nine major physicians' groups released a report identifying 45 tests and procedures as overused and unproven.  Accountable Care Organizations, like this one in NJ, are being formed to try and coordinate care and cut down on unnecessary procedures while increasing quality of care.

Here's an interesting snapshot of which countries spend the most on groceries

The first "World Happiness Report," which examines what makes people happy in different places, was released.  Here are some of the takeaway points.  The heading summarizes these as "be wealthy, married, and have a job," but there are some twists -- including this one about employment:

Unemployment obviously reduces happiness, but not because of what you may think. It’s not the loss of income, but the loss of things like self-esteem and workplace social life that lead to a drop in happiness. High unemployment rates can trigger unhappiness even in the employed, who suddenly become fearful of losing their jobs. According to the study, even low-quality jobs yield more satisfaction than being unemployed.

More Poverty Policy Links, 4-8-12

A front page article in the NY Times today explores the reactions of states and individuals to welfare reform.  The article interviews single mothers who've come up with a wide range of solutions after their benefits have been cut off, discusses what states have done with extra money from their block grants after reducing the rolls, and asks scholars with various viewpoints whether the law has helped or hurt.  Here's some background on how the article was written and the difficulty of measuring poverty (particularly interesting is the divergence between reported income and reported spending).

Meanwhile, an econ professor at Chicago asks if welfare reform has been reversed, pointing out that increases in food stamps and unemployment benefits have made up for a good deal of the reduced spending on TANF cash aid.

One popular talking about is the "culture of poverty".  The New York Times featured a piece not too long ago exploring a resurgence of this notion, but from a different point of view.  Here's some history on how the term got started.  An article for teachers and school officials calls the old view a "myth" and suggests some ways to overcome it.

Lastly, new data indicate that more children are living in high-poverty areas -- that concentrated poverty may be increasing.

Poverty & Policy Links, 4-6-12

A new measure of poverty has been developed.  Here's the story behind the new measure of poverty that's being rolled out and some background on how the calculations in the article were made.  The Economist agrees that the new measure is an improvement.

PBS reports on Dan Ariely's study of American opinions on wealth inequality in which Americans consistently underrated the amount of inequality in our country.  And here's Timothy Noah's essay on "why everyone overestimates American equality of opportunity".  Meanwhile, a recent analysis finds that the only major difference in mobility between the US and other developed nations is that fewer lower-income people become middle-income.

A new investigation of government programs finds that many people who oppose welfare and consider themselves self-sufficient Middle Class Americans accept a wide range of government aid.  Indeed, only 32% of entitlement benefits go to families in the bottom quintile of the income distribution.

Social entrepreneur David Bornstein writes that anti-poverty programs should focus on developing people's capabilities and other "soft" skills rather than measures of "well-being".  Here are some examples of these types of programs.

Mixed-income housing is being implemented with mixed success in Pittsburgh.


Nick Kristof writes about the impact of "toxic stress" on students

Here's the story of a young, white, homeless couple who defy stereotypes

Here's The Daily Show's take on recent rhetoric surrounding poverty

Links, 4-4-12

The discussion in the Supreme Court last week prompted outrage among many liberal commentators:

Steven Pearlstein writes that the questions about requiring citizens to eat broccoli or buy cell phones misunderstand the issue because the power to tax, regulate, or mandate anything (e.g. airbags) always runs the risk of taxing, regulating, or mandating "stupidly".

Paul Begala writes that "your health care is now in the hands of the right-wing majority of the Supreme Court" and writes that

The oral arguments on the Affordable Care Act give us very little reason to have faith in the wisdom of the court. Some of the justices came off as smug, arrogant, and frighteningly detached from the realities of everyday life in America

And Supreme Court expert Jeffrey Toobin writes that the characterization of the health care mandate as "unprecedented" by Anthony Kennedy and others is a "misperception" on all levels and that Congress has had sole authority to determine how to implement the Commerce Clause the last 75 years.

For example, the Justices had no trouble upholding the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which used the clause to mandate the integration of hotels and restaurants. “It may be argued that Congress could have pursued other methods to eliminate the obstructions it found in interstate commerce caused by racial discrimination,” Justice Tom C. Clark wrote, for his unanimous brethren. “But this is a matter of policy that rests entirely with the Congress, not with the courts. How obstructions in commerce may be removed—what means are to be employed—is within the sound and exclusive discretion of the Congress.” In other words, Justice Kennedy had it backward. The “heavy burden” is not on the defenders of the law but on its challengers. Acts of Congress, like the health-care law, are presumed to be constitutional, and it is—or should be—a grave and unusual step for unelected, unaccountable, life-tenured judges to overrule the work of the democratically elected branches of government.

Politico wonders what's next for health care if the mandate is struck down, with some worrying that it might pave the way for the repeal of environmental and labor laws.

The Economist wonders whether there are still Conservatives who oppose the health care law but who believe it's constitutional or if everybody has conflated good/bad with constitutional/unconstitutional.

Nate Silver explores whether the current Supreme Court is the most conservative in modern history


President Obama went after the GOP budget designed by Paul Ryan, calling it a "radical vision"

60 Minutes reported Sunday on new research finding that sugar is toxic and can lead to heart disease and cancer independent of its effects on weight gain.

Many of you wrote about early childhood education in your ed policy papers.  Here's a brief from University of Chicago's Nobel Prize winning James Heckman on the importance of investment in young children.

A new report argues that while more Americans obtaining college degrees, the numbers haven't increased fast enough to keep up with the demands of the private sector.  The US now ranks 16th in the world in percentage of adults with a college degree.

With a Romney nomination (Romination?) looking more and more likely, the Washington Post says to let the veepstakes begin and explores ten of the most likely nominees

Utah's Republican Attorney General is pushing for a slightly less confrontational crackdown on illegal immigration, including allowing guest worker visas.

Links, 3-28-12

Here's an overview of what the Supreme Court will hear about health care this week.  The hearings represent a "moment of truth" for health care reform.  Among other things, the court will decide what parts of the health care law, if any, can stand if the mandate is unconstitutional.  The federal government is arguing that they cannot require insurers to accept all applicants or cover pre-existing conditions without the mandate.  Here's an update on what's happened the past two days.


In other health news, hospitals and other medical providers charge different users and insurers vastly different amounts for the same procedures.

Romney may be the consensus Republican candidate now, but that doesn't mean everybody is okay with that.  Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that Romney needs to check his watch from time to time and realize "it is 2012, not the mid-1970s".  And Rick Santorum said that Romney was the "worst Republican in the country to put up against Barack Obama" on the issue of health care.

Newt Gingrich, meanwhile, is scaling back his campaign -- firing one-third of his staff and replacing his campaign manager


The Economist reports that nudges are catching on around the world.

Climatologists report that the Earth is on the brink of crossing a tipping point past which global warming will be irreversible.

The electric car seems to be losing steam.

THE future would appear bright for the electric car. Gasoline prices are high. The government is spending billions on battery technology. Auto companies are preparing to roll out a dozen new electrified models. Concern is growing about the climate impacts of burning oil. And tough new fuel economy standards are looming.
Yet the state of the electric car is dismal, the victim of hyped expectations, technological flops, high costs and a hostile political climate. General Motors has temporarily suspended production of the plug-in electric Chevy Volt because of low sales. Nissan’s all-electric Leaf is struggling in the market. A number of start-up electric vehicle and battery companies have folded. And the federal government has slowed its multibillion-dollar program of support for advanced technology vehicles in the face of market setbacks and heavy political criticism.

More Ed Policy Links, 3-27-12

Here's a good summary of efforts by the federal government to push schools toward using merit pay as part of RTTP.  According to the author of a new book on the psychology of motivation, teacher merit pay "doesn't work."  Here's a summary of the results of the Nashville merit pay experiment that support his contention. Meanwhile, a less-rigorous study in Arkansas found some positive returns to merit pay, but also found teachers reporting they didn't work harder.

Richard Rothstein writes that "keeping children in good health" must be part of our school reform efforts.  Apparently parents agree: after funding cuts, parents in some districts in California have paid for physical education out of their own pockets.

A new report on Charter Management Organizations asserts that the most successful charter management organizations focus heavily setting high expectations for student behavior and intensively coaching and monitoring students.

A recent study finds that attending a K-8 school instead of a middle school raises students' scores

Paul Peterson argues that low family income is "not a major reason for poor student achievement"

Washington Post education reporter Jay Mathews writes that history suggests that too many people are not attending college, contrary to Rick Santorum's claims.

The high school graduation rate in the US rose 3.5 percentage points, to 75%, from 2001 to 2009.  Wisconsin is the only state above the goal of 90% and Nevada saw a 15 percentage point decrease to 56% as high schoolers dropped out to work on the Las Vegas strip.

A survey of teachers finds that fewer than one-third of teachers believes longer school days/years or merit pay will raise student achievement while 84% believe "increased family involvement and support" would make a difference.

Experts recently debated whether college should be for everyone.

A teacher writes that current measurements of teaching ability are all wrong.

The POSSE Foundation recruits low-income students and coaches them on how to make it through college. The results is that POSSE students are more likely to graduate from college than peers who score much on higher on standardized tests.

In a new feature, Paul Tough asks whether the secret to success is learning how to deal with failure.

A pediatrician writes that our children are chronically sleep deprived (69% get "insufficient" sleep on school nights and only 7.6% sleep the optimal amount) and argues that the lack of sleep is negatively impacting our kids in a variety of ways.

This chronic sleep deprivation is not without consequences. Sleep restriction in children has been linked to daytime sleepiness, inattention, poor motivation, memory problems, increased irritability, decreased socialization, low self-esteem, increased anxiety and depression, and suicidal behaviors.
Many of the prototypical traits of modern adolescence could just as easily be attributed to sleep deprivation as to raging hormones. Not surprisingly, there is further evidence (though limited) that these sleep deprivation problems with attention, memory consolidation, motivation, etc., contribute to overall lower grades and standardized test scores.
Finally, physical problems have been linked to chronic sleep restriction including: increased auto accidents, impaired immune function and obesity.
In 1997, seven high schools in the Minneapolis Public School District shifted their school start times from 7:15 a.m. to 8:40 a.m. In the two years following this change, data showed improved attendance, fewer depressive symptoms, less daytime sleepiness, increased student calmness in the cafeteria and hallways, fewer school counselor and nurse visits, and fewer disciplinary referrals.