At the Fourth Sector

“Among the lowest quintile of American families, mean household income has held relatively steady between $10,000 and $13,000 for the past two decades (in inflation-adjusted dollars); among the highest, income has jumped 20 percent to $170,800 over the same period, according to census data. What this means, in practical terms, is that the richest Americans can afford to buy berries out of season at Whole Foods—the upscale grocery chain that recently reported a 58 percent increase in its quarterly profits—while the food insecure often eat what they can: highly caloric, mass-produced foods like pizza and packaged cakes that fill them up quickly. The number of Americans on food stamps has surged by 58.5 percent over the last three years.” 

Via Newsweek. 

Via the Chicago Sun-Times:

“It’s a longer historical trend where you’re seeing cities and suburbs moving closer together, not just in unemployment but also in poverty and food stamps,” said Emily Garr, a research assistant at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

From January 2008 through July, while the number of food-stamp recipients grew by 21.5 percent in the cities, the program grew 36.3 percent in higher-density suburbs (usually the inner ring, or street-car suburbs) and 30.6 percent in the lower-density suburbs.

The New York Times has a fantastic interactive tool, allowing readers to select specific opportunities for spending cuts and tax increases to balance the budget. Through a mix of both tax increases and spending cuts, I was able to balance it on the first try. Check it out. 

From The New York Times:

The chairmen of President Obama’s bipartisan commission on reducing the national debt outlined a politically provocative and economically ambitious package of spending cuts and tax increases on Wednesday, igniting a debate that is likely to grip the country for years.

The plan calls for deep cuts in domestic and military spending, a gradual 15-cents-a-gallon increase in the federal gasoline tax, limiting or eliminating popular tax breaks in return for lower rates, and benefit cuts and an increased retirement age forSocial Security.

Those changes and others, none of which would take effect before 2012 to avoid undermining the tepid economic recovery, would erase nearly $4 trillion from projected deficits through 2020, the proposal says, and stabilize the accumulated debt.

Oh America. We have some hard conversations ahead. 

Fast Company just published a really nice piece on the field guide to modern campaigns. I’m currently impressed by Eric Cantor’s use of social media. Check it out: 

Stay engaged on social media after the election’s over.