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Daily Archives: June 26, 2013

Post Recession, LGB Americans Are More Likely to be Poor than Heterosexual Americans

New Patterns of Poverty in the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Community, By M.V. Lee Badgett, Laura E. Durso, Alyssa Schneebaum, June 2013:As poverty rates for nearly all populations increased during the recession, lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) Americans remained more likely to be poor than heterosexual people. Gender, race, education and geography all influence poverty rates among LGB populations, and children of same-sex couples are particularly vulnerable to poverty.

Key findings include:

• In the American Community Survey, 7.6% of lesbian couples, compared to 5.7% of married different-sex couples, are in poverty.
• African American same-sex couples have poverty rates more than twice the rate of different-sex married African Americans.
• One third of lesbian couples and 20.1 % of gay male couples without a high school diploma are in poverty, compared to 18.8% of different-sex married couples.
• Lesbian couples who live in rural areas are much more likely to be poor (14.1%), compared to 4.5% of coupled lesbians in large cities. 10.2% of men in same-sex couples, who live in small metropolitan areas, are poor, compared with only 3.3% of coupled gay men in large metropolitan areas.
• Almost one in four children living with a male same-sex couple and 19.2% of children living with a female same-sex couple are in poverty, compared to 12.1% of children living with married different-sex couples. African American children in gay male households have the highest poverty rate (52.3%) of any children in any household type.
• 14.1% of lesbian couples and 7.7% of gay male couples receive food stamps, compared to 6.5% of different-sex married couples. Also, 2.2% of women in same-sex couples receive government cash assistance, compared to .8% of women in different sex couples; 1.2% of men in same-sex couples, compared to .6% of men in different-sex couples, receive cash assistance.

The study updates and extends a similar, first-of-its kind Williams Institute report released in 2009 that was based on data from the first half of the last decade. The new report draws on recent data from four datasets to estimate recent poverty rates for different groups of the lesbian, gay, and bisexual population: the 2010 American Community Survey (for same-sex couples), the 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth (for LGB people aged 18-44), the 2007-2009 California Health Interview Survey (for LGB people 18 and older living in California), and the Gallup Daily Tracking Poll (for single LGBT-identified adults) over the June 1 – September 30, 2012 time period.”

Williams Institute: Supreme Court Rulings Strike down DOMA and Prevent Enforcement of California’s Proposition 8

News release:  Marriage rulings make federal protections available for up to 114,000 legally married same-sex couples nationwide and open marriage to CA’s estimated 1.1 million LGBT adults “The Supreme Court’s rulings regarding the federal Defense of Marriage Act in United States v. Windsor and regarding California’s Proposition 8 in Hollingsworth v. Perry have important social, economic and legal consequences… Continue Reading

Capital Words – visualizes frequently used words in Congressional Record

“For every day Congress is in session, Capitol Words visualizes the most frequently used words in the Congressional Record, giving you an at-a-glance view of which issues lawmakers address on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis. Capitol Words lets you see what are the most popular words spoken by lawmakers on the House and… Continue Reading

BEA – Gross Domestic Product and Corporate Profits Profiles

BEA news release: National Income and Product Accounts Gross Domestic Product, 1st quarter 2013 (third estimate);  Corporate Profits, 1st quarter 2013 (revised estimate), June 26, 2013 “Corporate prrofits from current production (corporate profits with inventory valuation and capital consumption adjustments) decreased $28.0 billion in the first quarter, in contrast to an increase of $45.4 billion in the fourth… Continue Reading

New GAO Reports – Managing For Results, Moving to Work Demonstration, Program Evaluation, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Managing For Result – Executive Branch Should More Fully Implement the GPRA Modernization Act to Address Pressing Governance Challenges, GAO-13-518, Jun 26, 2013 Managing for Results – 2013 Federal Managers Survey on Organizational Performance and Management Issues (GAO-13-519SP, June 2013), an E-supplement to GAO-13-518, GAO-13-519SP, Jun 26, 2013 Moving to Work Demonstration – Improved Information and Monitoring Could Enhance Program… Continue Reading

Thirteen Economic Facts about Social Mobility and the Role of Education

Thirteen Economic Facts about Social Mobility and the Role of Education, Michael Greenstone, Adam Looney, Jeremy Patashnik, and Muxin Yu. The Hamilton Project • Brookings Institution. June 2013. “This document provides thirteen economic facts on the growth of income inequality and its relationship to social mobility in America; on the growing divide in educational opportunities and… Continue Reading

Education at a Glance 2013 – OECD Indicators

Education at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators: “Governments are paying increasing attention to international comparisons as they search for effective policies that enhance individuals’ social and economic prospects, provide incentives for greater efficiency in schooling, and help to mobilise resources to meet rising demands. As part of its response, the OECD Directorate for Education and… Continue Reading

Library of Congress Transitions to Free, Online-Only Cataloging Publications

“The Library of Congress has announced a transition to online-only publication of its cataloging documentation. As titles that are in production are released, the Library’s Cataloging Distribution Service (CDS) will no longer print new editions of its subject headings, classification schedules and other cataloging publications. The Library will instead provide free downloadable PDF versions of… Continue Reading

The Computer Desktop Encyclopedia

The Computer Desktop Encyclopedia: “The Computer Language Company was founded in 1978 by husband-wife team Alan Freedman and Irma Morrison. When Freedman couldn’t find a computer dictionary that would meaningfully augment the computer literacy classes he taught to Fortune 500 companies, he set out on a quest to purchase his first computer and write this… Continue Reading

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Tracking and Monitoring of Potentially Fraudulent Petitions and Applications for Family-Based Immigration Benefits

DHS OIG –U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Tracking and Monitoring of Potentially Fraudulent Petitions and Applications for Family-Based Immigration Benefits – June 12, 2013 “USCIS has procedures to track and monitor documentation related to petitions and applications for family-based immigration benefits suspected of being fraudulent. However, once family-based immigration petitions and applications were investigated and adjudicated,… Continue Reading

Commentary – Ebooks in 2013

Ebooks in 2013 – Promises broken, promises kept, and Faustian bargains, By Clifford A. Lynch “Printed books have served us rather well—as a society, as readers, and as authors—for centuries. When the possibilities of ebooks first emerged, we hoped that they would build on this strong foundation, improving the experience of the printed book, making… Continue Reading