By Christa Tinsley, Project Associate   A week ago, the federal minimum wage rose to $7.25 an hour. A recent NPR story discussed the projected positive and negative effects the boost in pay would bring, with proponents of the law saying the increase would stimulate spending and pull families out of poverty with wages closer to the national standard of living; the opposition fears the rise in wage spending could hurt small businesses and in turn their employees could lose more jobs. ...

By Chelsea Arkin, Project Assistant.     It is easy to see the rippling effects of our country’s economic turndown on the art community. Art sales are dropping rapidly, with many galleries closing altogether. Many  recent studies have linked art to economic prosperity, saying that communities that invest in the arts reap the benefit of jobs, economic growth, and a quality of life that will position them to compete effectively in the New Economy. In addition, if we subscribe to the...

By Ranada Robinson, Project Associate.    When I was in the 7th grade, I participated in the Talent Identification Program at Duke University. You see, at the time, I was in the gifted program, and my junior high school made sure that gifted students were on track for college. I took the ACT as an 11-year-old, six years before the average student takes a crack at the sometimes daunting test. Later, as a college student tutoring my peers and students in the local public schools, I started...

By William Teasley, Project Manager.    Immigration has had a dramatic and overall positive impact on our nation. America was, and remains, the symbol of opportunity and freedom to people across the globe. As a nation whose vast majority of citizens are descendants of immigrants, America is the melting pot where natives, immigrants, and illegal aliens will continue to have a dynamic impact on our communities. All communities in America are multi-cultural communities, whether the...

By Ellen Anderson, Research Manager.  The College Board, a not-for-profit membership organization composed of more than 5,400 colleges, universities, and other educational entities, reports that the tuition prices at many universities continue to outpace inflation (see chart below; 5.6% inflation in 2008).  As costs for high education have soared, so have average debt loads per student – up 18 percent since 2000 (calculation uses 2008 constant dollars). The average debt load among...

 By Christa Tinsley, Project Associate.   On Monday, the White House published the report “Preparing the Workers of Today for the Jobs of Tomorrow” ( PDF ) by President’s Council of Economic Advisors. There aren’t a lot of surprises here for people who have been following the changes in American jobs – manufacturing will continue to decline; health care will keep growing; jobs that require more education are growing faster than those that don’t; etc.   But while communities are...

By J. Mac Holladay, Founder and CEO. This past week I spent at my alma mater, Washington and Lee University, studying and discussing Dr. George Herring’s classic textbook: “Vietnam -America’s Longest War.” Our country’s involvement in Vietnam lasted from 1950 to 1975 and cost this country 59,000 lives and hundreds of billions of dollars. Eighteen graduates of Washington and Lee died in Vietnam. The Alumni College class included many Vietnam veterans, like myself, and a number of anti-war...

By Alex Pearlstein, Senior Project Manager.   Well, the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) has released its latest Urban Mobility Report and the most respected traffic-congestion analysis in our fair land has determined that traffic-related delays have actually DECREASED in recent years.  As numerous catty newspaper reports have noted, tell that to John and Jane Doe stuck in their idling Taurus on any number of clogged U.S. highways.  TTI also poured a mountain of salt on the report...

By Matt Tarleton, Project Associate.    On August 31, 2008, our current president and then presidential candidate Barack Obama was in Toledo, Ohio fielding questions from a group of residents. One gentleman was called upon, and begun to speak about the need for a renewed focus on cities within federal policy. The man was holding a book as he spoke, and he soon asked if he could provide our current president with a copy of the “most important book ever written on rebuilding cities.”...

By Ranada Robinson, Project Associate.  A hot topic in the news lately has been how healthcare will be reformed under the leadership of President Obama. In an environment where health access and cost have become increasingly important and healthcare related legislation is covered in the news daily, leaders across the country are finding ways to increase wellness in their communities. This is not just an issue for individual citizens—the well-being of our communities depend on healthy...

By William Teasley, Project Manager.  Communities traditionally viewed infrastructure (including roads, rail, water and sewer, and electricity) as keys to their competitiveness. However, to survive in the 21st century, infrastructure must include high-speed broadband communications. A community’s information technology (IT) and broadband access has become a greater equalizer and asset than interstate highway access. Communities across the South felt the impacts of globalization in...