Childcare Costs, Reduced Work, and Financial Strain: New Estimates for Low-Income Families

"According to new survey data from the Federal Reserve’s 2023 Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (“SHED”), low-income families are more likely to reduce work to care for young children while high income families are more likely to pay for care.^[i] These differing decisions have financial consequences, as families who reduce work are less well off financially than those who are not reducing work. Although families who pay for care are better off overall, child care costs are still a notable expense. On average, families who pay for care pay about half as much for that care as for housing each month. This analysis suggests how government and private sector support for child care might vary by income

Families handle care responsibilities differently across income levels

As shown in Figure 1, families at different income levels make different decisions about how to care for their children. Households with young children and that make less than $75,000 per year are more likely to provide care themselves, with about 35 percent of these households reducing work to care for children. As income rises, the share of households using paid child care rises – from 17 percent for those making less than $24,000 to 41 percent for those making more than $150,000. The highest earners are unlikely to reduce work to care for children, without only about 14 percent of households doing so.."
Childcare Costs 

Honoring First Responders on the 20th Anniversary of 9/11

"Soon after the planes hit the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001, Brad Morrell deployed from Utah to New York City as part of an urban search and rescue team.

Aboard the military airlift transporting rescuers, Brad remembers seeing otherwise empty skies except for the fighter jets escorting their plane. When they got to the fallen towers, the scene was unlike anything else he and his teammates had experienced.

In the initial days, cell service was non-existent, land-mobile radios were down, and repeaters to boost signals weren’t working. The only communications available to Brad and his team were two-way pagers they brought from Utah.

“We knew that comms was an issue. For the first few days, we couldn't talk from Ground Zero back to our base of operations,” said Brad who now serves as the FirstNet Authority’s Director of Network and Technology Operations.

“After a few days, we got some repeaters up. But communications at Ground Zero was essentially being done the old-fashioned way. It was just face-to-face or yelling across the way. It hampered operations for sure.”

The tragedies of September 11 revealed fundamental problems with communication systems then used by our nation’s first responders. Radios relied on by police, fire, and paramedics did not easily operate across different agencies. Land and mobile phone lines were overwhelmed by a high volume of calls. First responders struggled to communicate with each other.

At the FirstNet Authority, our story is indelibly linked to September 11, 2011. Our mission is to oversee a communications network – FirstNet – that was created in light of the events of 9/11 to give American first responders a reliable nationwide broadband network..."
9/11 and First Responders 

What You Need to Know About Section 232 Investigations and Tariffs

"WHAT: Section 232 investigations help to determine the effects of imports on America’s national security and give the President the ability to address any threats to national security by restricting imports through tariffs.

Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended, gives the executive branch the ability to conduct investigations to “determine the effects on the national security of imports.” Within 270 days of initiating any investigation, the Commerce Department issues a report to the President with the investigation’s findings, including whether certain imports threaten to impair America’s national security. The President has 90 days to determine whether he concurs with the findings and, if so, to use his statutory authority under Section 232 “to adjust the imports” as necessary, including through tariffs or quotas..."Tariffs

Country Commerical Guides

"Country Commercial Guides are an excellent starting point to find everything you need to know about doing business overseas, detailing 8 important factors to help you decide if a market is right for your product or service:

1. Doing Business in ...

Provides a broad overview of the market and the top reasons why U.S. companies should consider exporting here. Recommends strategies for entering the market and summarizes challenges or barriers for U.S. companies.

2. Political and Economic Environment

Links to the State Department’s website for background information on the country’s political environment, its bilateral relationship with the U.S. and the country’s membership in international organizations.

3. Selling U.S. Products and Services

Provides guidance and best practices for selling U.S. products and services in the market, includes typical use of agents and selling to the government. Provides steps for establishing an office or joint-venture/licensing partner, and conducting due diligence. Discusses the state of e-commerce, franchising, and direct marketing..."

Country commerical guides

BEA’s New Data Tool Provides Fast Access to Trade and Investment Stats for Countries

"A new data tool--International Trade and Investment Country Facts Application--on the Bureau of Economic Analysis website gives users a snapshot of statistics on trade and investment between the United States and another country by simply clicking on a world map.

These fast facts at your fingertips can include:

• Total exports, imports and trade balance between the United States and the country you select.
• The top five categories of goods and services the United States buys from and sells to that country.
• Country level data on U.S. direct investment abroad and foreign direct investment in the United States and on the activities of multinational enterprises such as employment and sales..."Trade data

The Importance of Data Occupations in the U.S. Economy

"The growing importance of data in the economy is hard to dispute. But what does thismean for workers and jobs? A lot, as it turns out: higher paying (over $40/hour) , faster growing jobs.
In this report we identify occupations where data analysis and processing are central to the work performed and measure the size of employment and earnings in these occupations , as well as in the industries that have the highest concentration of these data occupations..."
Data occupations

NEW COMMERCE DEPARTMENT REPORT SHOWS BROADBAND ADOPTION RISES WHILE 'GAP' PERSISTS
"The Department of Commerce's Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA) and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today released a new report, “Digital Nation II,” that analyzes broadband Internet access and adoption across the United States. The study – the most comprehensive of its kind -- finds that socio-economic factors such as income and education levels, although strongly associated with broadband Internet use, are not the sole determinants of use; even after accounting for socioeconomic differences, significant gaps persist along racial, ethnic, and geographic lines. The report analyzes data collected through an Internet Usage Survey of 54,000 households conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau in October 2009. Earlier this year, NTIA released initial findings from the survey, showing that while virtually all demographic groups have experienced rising broadband Internet adoption at home, and 64 percent of households overall have broadband at home, historic disparities among demographic groups have persisted over time..."

EconomicRecovery.gov
A new resource from the U.S. Department of Commerce designed to help the "American people to find help to keep their homes, find jobs and protect their savings." Provides links to information at the White House, Treasury Department, Commerce Department, Agriculture Department, Labor Department, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Small Business Administration, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.