Short Reads

Eurostat, the European statistical agency, announced today that the European Union’s annual inflation rate in April was 1.4%, down from a rate of 2.7% in April 2012. Nonetheless, across eight EU nations surveyed by the Pew Research Center in March 2013, a median of 67% said rising prices were a “very” big problem in their […]

Four in 10 Americans say they have an unfavorable view of the IRS.

The Internal Revenue Service, now under intense scrutiny for singling out conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status for special review, is one of the least-popular federal agencies — but not quite at the bottom. In a 2010 Pew Research survey, 47% of people said they had a “very” or “mostly” favorable opinion of the IRS. That […]

The Census Bureau made big news last week when it reported that the black voter turnout rate (66.2%) exceeded the white voter turnout rate (64.1%) for the first time ever in 2012. But a closer look at the numbers raises some intriguing questions. It’s possible that the lines may have first crossed in 2008. But […]

Popularity is no protection against budget cuts: The parts of government that Americans like the most — state, cities and counties, and the U.S. Postal Service — are also the ones shedding workers the fastest. The most recent nonfarm payroll figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the public sector continues to be a drag on […]

Nearly half of middle-aged adults have a parent 65 or older and are caring for or financially supporting a child.

A major casualty of the euro crisis has been Europeans’ faith in the fairness of their economic system, according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center. In what is now the fifth year in the wake of the Great Recession, Europeans believe that inequality is now a major problem in their societies and think […]

Nearly one-third of Americans abandoned a particular news outlet because it no longer provides the same level of news and information.

College is a pretty pricey proposition, even after grants and scholarships are factored in. And the millions of students graduating this spring will soon learn just how expensive their degrees were when they start getting student-loan bills. As a Pew Research Center analysis noted last year, nearly one in five U.S. households (19%) owed money […]

Two-thirds of young adults ages 18-to-24 engage in some sort of political activity on social networking sites.