Neil Howe's blog

“Look, but don’t touch.”  It’s a common refrain in outdoor education programs for today’s children, and—according to a recent New York Times blog post—it is creating a new generation of kids without much interest in nature.

Most Americans still associate childhood with long days outside making up games in the backyard or exploring a playground or park. But for today’s young children, that’s not the reality anymore.

Pundits have long been predicting that the presidential election will be much closer and much meaner in 2012 than it was in 2008. Closer it now is. According to the RCP Poll Average, the race is now a virtual tie: Incumbent Obama now leads by a mere 1.8 percent over Romney, whereas challenger Obama led McCain by 7.6 percent exactly four years ago. It will certainly revolve around a very different array of issues—much less argument about the war on terror and GOP performance, and a lot more about the stagnating economy and Democratic performance.

Every three years (or so), the Fed’s Survey of Consumer Finances releases a report on “Changes in U.S. Family Finances.”  It’s a goldmine of information on how families are doing financially—specifically, how their assets and liabilities and net worths are changing by various demographic categories.