From the summary:
One of the most profound changes in America's demography this century will be its shifting race and ethnic makeup. The rise of immigration from Latin America and Asia, the higher fertility of some minorities and the slow growth of America's aging white population will have profound impacts on the nation's demographic profile, with important implications for the electorate. The significance of these changes on identity politics, new racial coalitions and reactions to immigration have already been seen in the 2008 presidential sweepstakes. Yet, these shifts are only the tip of the iceberg of what can be expected in future election cycles as Hispanic, Asian, and Black Americans make up ever larger shares of the electorate.

This chapter discusses the shifts playing out in 2008, but with an eye toward what they will mean in the future. It begins by examining the magnitude of new minority population growth, how it differs from past election cycles, and the lag that immigrant minorities experience in translating their growth into actual voting power. It then goes on to discuss how these groups differ from each other on basic social and demographic profiles and on key political issues, with special emphasis on immigration.

▪ Tables and graphs
▪ Full presentation

From the press release:
Many of the recent proposals to help homeowners facing foreclosure provide little relief for most of the families at risk of losing their home, according to a report from the Center of Economic and Policy Research. Under these rescues, taxpayers end up underwriting a bailout that could reap billions of dollars in profit for banks and mortgage holders.

From the summary:
A new Center for Excellence poll finds that most Americans are unaware that state and local public health departments are facing a serious shortage of skilled professionals that could put the health and lives of citizens at risk.

See also:
Fact Sheet: The Impending Shortage in the State and Local Public Health Workforce

From the summary:
Both last year and this year, President Bush called for large funding increases for defense and related programs while demanding considerable restraint in domestic appropriations. And this year, like last year, he has threatened to veto appropriations bills if Congress does not adhere to his tight domestic levels.

From the summary:
Despite what many believe, a person's health is not only a product of good medical care and genes. In fact, in many cases, these may only be small pieces of a much larger puzzle.

Social and economic factors are keeping some Americans from being as healthy as they should be. Based on work conducted by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), this report outlines in stark detail how a person's health and the likelihood of becoming sick and dying prematurely are greatly influenced by powerful social factors--such as levels of education, income and the quality of neighborhood environments.

▪ Highlights and key figures

Pension and other retiree benefits for state and local government employees represent liabilities for state and local governments and ultimately a burden for state and local taxpayers. Since 1986, accounting standards have required state and local governments to report their unfunded pension liabilities. Recently, however, standards changed and now call for governments also to report retiree health liabilities.

From the press release:
At least 48 million Americans in working families lack the income needed to gain a toehold in the middle class, according to a new report released by the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

"Movin' On Up: Reforming America's Social Contract to Provide a Bridge to the Middle Class" synthesizes recent research by CEPR on job quality, economic security, and unionization, and outlines a set of national policy reforms that would make it possible for more struggling families to join the middle class.

From the press release:
The development of a two-tiered system of financial services, driven by the rising economic inequality in the United States, is ushering in a new era of de facto redlining, according to a new paper from the Economic Policy Institute, "Do Subprime Loans Create Subprime Cities? Surging Inequality and the Rise in Predatory Lending."

In the paper, published by EPI as part of its Agenda for Shared Prosperity, author, Gregory D. Squires, a George Washington University sociologist, contends that increasing economic inequality and diminishing access to conventional financial services have become inextricably linked.

From the summary:
One in 100: Behind Bars in America in 2008 details how, for the first time in history, more than one in every 100 adults in America are in jail or prison--a fact that significantly impacts state budgets without delivering a clear return on public safety.

See also:
▪ Work in the States: Sentencing and Corrections in New Jersey
▪ Work in the States: Sentencing and Corrections in Vermont
▪ Work in the States: Sentencing and Corrections in Nevada
▪ Sentencing and Corrections Profile: Nevada

From the abstract:
In testimony on the ramifications of inadequate investments in workforce development, Senior Fellow Harry Holzer told a House Appropriations subcommittee that the very low earnings and employment of millions of Americans generate high poverty rates and impose huge costs on the U.S. economy. The research evidence, while somewhat mixed, shows that many public investments in workforce development are cost-effective at raising the earnings of low-income workers.

From the abstract:
This issue brief focuses on how employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) coverage has changed among employees. It begins with a brief description of major forces driving ESI: changes in the workforce and the rising costs of health insurance over the four year period. Next, it examines the decline in ESI among employees and the underlying reasons determining whether an employee has ESI, specifically: employer sponsorship of ESI, employee eligibility, employee participation, and employee participation in ESI available through another family member's job. The issue brief concludes by examining how the reasons for the decline in ESI varied across different groups of employees.

From the abstract:
The outlook for national health spending calls for continued steady growth. Spending growth is projected to be 6.7 percent in 2007, similar to its rate in 2006. Average annual growth over the projection period is expected to be 6.7 percent. Slower growth in private spending toward the end of the period is expected to be offset by stronger growth in public spending. The health share of gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to increase to 16.3 percent in 2007 and then rise throughout the projection period, reaching 19.5 percent of GDP by 2017.

As members of this Committee know well, there is good evidence from scientific research that preschool education can be an effective tool in our nation's long struggle to reduce the achievement gap between poor children and children from non-poor families. Reducing the achievement gap holds great promise for reducing poverty in the long term and even for reducing inequality. Having spent many years studying social intervention programs, I think it is fair to say that there is no body of evidence on any social intervention that holds as much promise of producing as wide a range of positive effects as high-quality preschool programs.

State and local governments are "under-delivering" open and honest information about spending practices to the public, according to a survey released Wednesday by the Alexandria, Va.-based Association of Government Accountants (AGA). However, the survey found that respondents were most disappointed with the federal government's financial reporting practices.

Verbatim Survey Results

With the 2008 election likely to lead to Democratic control of the legislative and executive branches, it is time for a bold new vision of the economy--one that will reduce the increased inequality that has grown in tandem with our national wealth. It is time to take a big step toward shared prosperity. ... The National Jobs for All Coalition is proposing a major program called the Drive for Decent Work. It simultaneously attacks economic inequality and our often unacknowledged but crippling double deficits--the chronic shortfall of decent jobs and the gaping hole in public investment. The Drive for Decent Work is a win-win solution that could put the nation back on the path it started to take after World War II.