Day archives: February 21st, 2011

Leading Indicators of Revolt in Middle East and Northern Africa: Corruption, Unemployment and Percentage of Household Money Spent on Food

What determines which Middle Eastern or North African (MENA) countries will face revolt? – This commentary reviews and highlights statistical data reports, charts and graphics compiled by: The Economist; Nomura International plc’s report written by Steven Cook of the Council on Foreign Relations, and current data updates from the International Labour Organization. See also World …

Subjects: Government Documents

Commentary: Don't join the government to get rich

The Economist: “One of the memes being thrown around over the past few years by advocates of reducing the power of public-sector unions has been the claim that public-sector workers are overpaid in comparison to their private-sector counterparts. I’ve always considered this an odd claim to hear, as I’ve been in the labour market for …

Subjects: Government Documents

Saving Oil and Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions through U.S. Federal Transportation Policy

Saving Oil and Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions through U.S. Federal Transportation Policy, by Cynthia J. Burbank, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Nick Nigro, Pew Center on Global Climate Change, February 2011 “The United States consumes over 10 million barrels of oil per day moving people and goods on roads and rail throughout the country. Surface transportation generates over …

Subjects: Congress, Government Documents, Legislation

Pew Report: Wikipedia, past and present

Wikipedia, past and present, by Kathryn Zickuhr, Lee Rainie, Jan 13, 2011 “Wikipedia, the multilingual, web-based, free-content encyclopedia project, was created in 2001 and celebrates its tenth anniversary on January 15, 2011. The percentage of all American adults who use Wikipedia to look for information has increased from 25% in February 2007 to 42% in …

Subjects: Internet, Knowledge Management

Primer on Federal Surface Transportation Authorization and the Highway Trust Fund

Primer on Federal Surface Transportation Authorization and the Highway Trust Fund by Cynthia J. Burbank, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Nick Nigro, Pew Center on Global Climate Change. February 2011 “Today, travel on roads and rail in the United States requires 10 million barrels of oil per day and is the source of over 23 percent of the …

Subjects: Government Documents

Preliminary Analysis of President's FY2012 Budget: Plan Would Make Permanent 81% of Bush Tax Cuts

Citizens for Tax Justice Fact Sheet, February 18, 2011: “The budget outline released by President Obama this week, just like last years proposal, includes about $3.5 trillion in tax cuts over ten years. Most of that cost comes from his $3.1 trillion proposal to make permanent most of the Bush tax cuts, which would cost …

Subjects: Government Documents

Global Imbalances: Links to Economic and Financial Stability

Chairman Ben S. Bernanke At the Banque de France Financial Stability Review Launch Event, Paris, France, February 18, 2011 – Global Imbalances: Links to Economic and Financial Stability “By facilitating the allocation of the world’s savings to the most productive uses, the free flow of capital across national borders confers substantial economic benefits, including the …

Subjects: Government Documents

HHS: Regulation for the Enforcement of Federal Health Care Conscience Protections

Statement from the Department of Health and Human Services on the Regulation for the Enforcement of Federal Health Care Conscience Protections: “The administration strongly supports provider conscience laws that protect and support the rights of health care providers, and also recognizes and supports the rights of patients. Strong conscience laws make it clear that health …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Government Documents, Legal Research

The Impact of Pensions on State Borrowing Costs

The Impact of Pensions on State Borrowing Costs by Alicia H. Munnell, Jean-Pierre Aubry, and Laura Quinby, February 2011 “Municipal bond prices are tumbling and rates rising just as public borrowers face pressure to refinance deals cut during the financial crisis. At the same time, the funded status of public pension plans has declined, and …

Subjects: Government Documents

Brookings Governance Studies: Approval Ratings By Presidency

Presidential Approval Rating 1953 – 2011: “President Obama received favorable approval ratings when he stepped into office, but his numbers have been declining since. The following displays overall presidential approval ratings by Democrats, Republicans and Independents dating back to 1953 (President Dwight D. Eisenhower).”

Subjects: Government Documents

Thank you!