Category: Series: Social Indicators 2007
-
American Social Indicators, 2007: Getting Better but Feeling Worse
Over the past month, I have done fifteen posts on American social indicators. (See Index) What can we conclude from these indicators? First, we can say that the worst year in American history over the last fifty years was probably about 1981. The property crime rate hit its high in 1975, but violent crime was…
-
Environment
SOCIAL INDICATORS 2007 There is a long history of environmentalism in American life. Yellowstone National Park was created in 1872. The Audubon Society, formed in 1905, was one of the earliest environmental groups. President Teddy Roosevelt (1901-1909) was probably the first "environmental president" with his conservationist policies. More modern environmental groups can be traced to…
-
Ethnicity
SOCIAL INDICATORS 2007 I've avoided giving an extensive analysis of subgroups within American culture during this series on social indicators. I've been focused on trends at the aggregate level. However, one measure of the quality of life for the whole society is the degree to which each person has an opportunity for a quality of…
-
Economic Status (Part 4)
SOCIAL INDICATORS 2007 Poverty Trends We now shift back to the income measures of economic status and the most frequently referenced indicator with regard to economic health: The poverty rate. Here is the percentage of persons living below the poverty level. The poverty rate for families dropped by half between 1960 (22.2%) and 1973 (11.1%).…
-
Economic Status (Part 3)
SOCIAL INDICATORS 2007 Consumption Analysis So far, I’ve been looking at economic status from an income standpoint. Many economists and social scientists have long had misgivings about accessing poverty in this way. First, poverty statistics do a poor job of reflecting actual income. Non-cash assistance like food stamps or housing subsidies is not reflected. Earned…
-
Economic Status (Part 2)
SOCIAL INDICATORS 2007 Economic Mobility Most societies, through the ages, have had flat income distributions. The overwhelming majority of people lived near subsistence levels, with a tiny minority living in splendor. There was equal distribution but little opportunity for an individual to improve economic status. Since the Industrial Revolution, we have seen a great expansion…
-
Economic Status (Part 1)
SOCIAL INDICATORS 2007 Economic status is usually cast in terms of income and wealth. When we talk about economic justice, we typically have one of two things in mind. First, we are asking if people have sufficient resources. Second, we are asking how income and wealth are distributed throughout society. Two critical factors in these…
-
Education
SOCIAL INDICATORS 2007 Education is critical for societies with complex modern economic systems. However, measuring the quality of education over time is difficult. As the economy and society become more complex, so do the educational needs. As the rate of technology change increases, some jobs disappear, and others are created. Workers have to be more…
-
Family Formation and Sexuality (Part 2)
SOCIAL INDICATORS 2007 Despite the decrease in teenage sexual behavior and less unprotected sexual behavior, there is a rapid increase in the rate of sexually transmitted diseases: The first graph shows that the rate of sexually transmitted diseases more than doubled between the early 1960s and early 1970s. After hitting a high in 1991, the…
-
Family Formation and Sexuality (Part 1)
SOCIAL INDICATORS 2007 The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Act was passed by Congress in 1996. Two of the Act's goals were to reduce out-of-wedlock births and to encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families. Scholars and politicians generally agree that the most desirable form of family for the nurture of children is a…