Marijuana (Plant) Deaths

Cultivated marijuana plants eradicated in 2011 by the DEA: 6,735,519.

Source: Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics Online

IRA Balances by Age

When left to their own devices, Americans are not very good at saving for retirement. The Employee Benefit Research Institute keeps track of their meager efforts. The latest report, detailing IRA account balances in 2010, reveals that the median balance per account was $17,863, and the median balance per IRA owner was a larger but still modest $25,296 (some individuals own more than one IRA account). By age, the numbers are even more worrisome because they show that even as retirement approaches, IRA balances barely exceed one year's worth of median household income ($49,445 in 2010).

Median IRA balance per owner by age, 2010
Under age 25: $5,782
Aged 25 to 29: $4,769
Aged 30 to 34: $7,229
Aged 35 to 39: $10,819
Aged 40 to 44: $14,745
Aged 45 to 49: $19,329
Aged 50 to 54: $24,505
Aged 55 to 59: $31,762
Aged 60 to 64: $42,998
Aged 65 to 69: $58,965
Aged 70-plus: $56,198

Keep in mind that few Americans even own an IRA. In 2009, only 21 percent of workers aged 21 to 64 had an IRA in their own name, according to EBRI. Among the owners, just 12 percent contributed to their IRA in 2010.

Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute, Individual Retirement Account Balances, Contributions, and Rollovers, 2010: The EBRI IRA Database™

Eating Local

Percent who have eaten lunch or dinner at the following types of restaurants in the past month...

Casual dining
Locally owned: 53%
Chain restaurant: 50%

Fine dining
Locally owned: 18%
Chain restaurant: 9%

Source: Harris Interactive, Seven in Ten Americans Cooking More Instead of Going Out to Save Money

Tooth Trouble

There are two way to determine the health status of Americans. You can ask them and hear their hopes and dreams (as happens when people are asked about their weight or how much they drink). Or you can examine them and get the facts. The federal government does both.

Most are familiar with the government's surveys about health. Few are familiar with its mobile examination centers that set up shop at various locations throughout the country and physically weigh and measure a representative sample of the population. From those physical examinations, we know that 21.5 percent of the population has cavities--untreated dental caries (the technical term for it) in their mouth. As you might suspect, the percentage of the population with cavities varies greatly by demographic characteristic, with people aged 20 to 44 (25.1 percent), men (24.6 percent), and the poor (35.8 percent) most likely to have cavities.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Selected Oral Health Indicators in the United States, 2005-2008

College Dropouts

Most college students borrow money to pay for school. Not all of those borrowers graduate, however. Borrowers who drop out of college have much higher default rates than borrowers who graduate (16.8 percent versus 3.7 percent, respectively), according to an Education Sector report. Here are the percentages of borrowers who drop out of four-year schools, by type of school...

54% of borrowers drop out at private, for-profit schools
21% of borrowers drop out at public schools
19% of borrowers drop out at private, non-profit schools

Source: Education Sector, Degreeless in Debt: What Happens to Borrowers Who Drop Out?

What's Geography Got to Do With It?

The best cities. The top states. Nearly every day there's a new list showing how this region or that metro is the best or worst at something--as if geography has anything to do with it.

Ok, sometimes--but only rarely--does geography have anything to do with it. Geography, for example, has a lot to do with how much people spend on winter coats, how often they attend a rodeo, and how many pink flamingoes dot their yard.

Otherwise, it's the demographics--not the geographics--that make the difference.

Trends in Entertainment Spending

Entertainment spending by the average household climbed 6 percent between 2000 and 2010, after adjusting for inflation. Trends in entertainment spending differed greatly by age of householder, with householders under age 45 cutting their spending. Here is the percent change in household spending on entertainment by age of householder, 2000 to 2010 (in 2010 dollars)...

Under age 25: -12%
Aged 25 to 34: -5%
Aged 35 to 44: -2%
Aged 45 to 54: +9%
Aged 55 to 64: +8%
Aged 65-plus: +40%

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2000 and 2010 Consumer Expenditure Surveys

Sign of the Times

"Have you noticed? America is becoming a Renter Nation. There are now more than 100 million residential renters and we are proud to rent our homes."

So says Renter Nation, a new web site launched by Media Demographics, Inc., where current and potential renters can search for a rental, get information about rental issues such as security deposits and repairs, post questions about renting, and even register to vote.

No IPO for Them

The idea of starting a business is not all that appealing to the nation's college students. When students are asked to rate the attractiveness of starting their own company or non-profit organization in the next five years, these are the answers...

Very attractive: 17%
Somewhat attractive: 30%
Not very attractive: 27%
Not attractive at all: 26%

Why so little interest in being an entrepreneur? Maybe it's because 69 percent say they will be in debt when they graduate, owing a median of $30,000. That fact would also explain why the number-one life goal of today's college students is not finding meaningful work, contributing to society, finding a partner, or having children. The number-one goal is financial security.

Source: Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, Rutgers University, Talent Report: What Workers Want in 2012

Going Online

How many Americans are online during an average month? Nielsen can tell you. According to its tracking, 211 million Americans were active online in April 2012. They went online an average of 64 times during the month, spending 29 hours browsing the web and viewing 2,703 web pages. Average time spent on a page: about 1 minute.

Source: Nielsenwire, April 2012--Top U.S. Online Brands and Travel Websites 

Retirement Dreams

When workers are asked which one activity best describes how they dream of spending their retirement, the largest share say travel (41%).

Source: Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, The 13th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey, Redefining Retirement: The New 'Retirement Readiness'

2011 Births Below 4 Million

Fewer than 4 million babies were born in the United States in 2011, according to provisional estimates released by the National Center for Health Statistics. This is the first time that the annual number of births has fallen below 4 million since 1999. In 2011, 3,961,000 babies were born--1 percent fewer than the 4,000,279 births of 2010 and 8 percent below the all-time high of 4,316,233 births in 2007.

The 2011 fertility rate fell to an all-time low of 63.4 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Recent Trends in Births and Fertility Rates through December 2011 

The Student Loan Mill

It is illegal for 18-year-olds to drink alcohol. But it is not illegal for them to borrow thousands of dollars to pay for college. Here are the percentages of freshmen at four-year institutions who personally signed on the dotted line in 2009-10, and the average amount they already owe with three more years to go...

All institutions: 58.7% ($7,213)
Public institutions: 50.0% ($6,063)
Private, non-profit: 63.0% ($7,466)
Private, for profit: 86.1% ($9,641)

Source: National Center for Education Statistics, The Condition of Education

Why Work after Retirement?

Among workers who plan to work past age 65 or after they retire, these are the main reasons they will continue to work...

Can't afford to retire/want the income/need health benefits: 64%

Want to stay involved/enjoy what I do: 33%

Source: Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, The 13th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey, Redefining Retirement: The New 'Retirement Readiness'

Government Help by Education

Percent of people who live in households that receive food stamps or cash assistance by educational attainment...

Not a high school graduate: 22.4%
High school graduate: 13.1%
Some college or associate's degree: 9.3%
Bachelor's degree: 3.2%
Graduate degree: 1.6%

Source: Urban Institute, Receipt of Assistance by Education

Morally Acceptable

Percent of Americans aged 18 or older who say the following are morally acceptable...

Death penalty: 58%
Gay or lesbian relations: 54%
Having a baby outside of marriage: 54%

Source: Gallup, Americans, Including Catholics, Say Birth Control is Morally OK

Emergency Room of Last Resort

Among adults aged 18 to 64 who visited an emergency room in the past 12 months but were not admitted to the hospital, percentage who said they went to the emergency room because they had no other health care place to go: 46%.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Emergency Room Use among Adults Aged 18-64: Early Release of Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, January-June, 2011

Life is Good

When you have
1) a guaranteed income
2) annual cost of living increases
3) and government provided health insurance

These factors explain why the financial wellbeing of older Americans is better than the financial wellbeing of everyone else.

Source: Gallup, In U.S., Financial Wellbeing Improves with Age

The Stages of Housing Recovery

The worst is over for the housing market, says a report from the Demand Institute, a non-profit organization and collaboration between The Conference Board and Nielsen. The housing recovery will occur in stages, starting with growing demand from developers and investors for rental property. Young adults and immigrants will fill the rental units, and this will clear the oversupply of existing housing in two to three years. Once the oversupply is cleared, homeownership rates will rise and return to historical levels between 2015 and 2017.

I see several demographic problems with the forecast of rising homeownership. First, the student debt hangover will prevent many young adults from qualifying for a mortgage. Second, their wealth drained by helping grown children pay for college and living expenses, older generations won't have the money to help those children with down payments. Third, the desire of boomers to downsize (and the necessity to do so as they retire) will make housing a buyers market for years to come. 

Even if everything unfolds as the report predicts, the housing recovery will be uneven. Leading the recovery will be urban and semi-urban Resilient Walkable communities with local amenities, says the Demand Institute. Lagging the recovery will be Weighed Down areas such as the outer suburbs of major metropolitan areas. 

Source: Demand Institute, The Shifting Nature of U.S. Housing Demand

Just Getting By

The top financial priority of the nation's workers is "just getting by," according to the 13th annual retirement survey by Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies.

Each year Transamerica surveys workers about their retirement plans, attitudes, and readiness. In 2012, the largest share of workers--26 percent--said their top financial priority was just getting by. An additional 25 percent of workers said their top priority was paying off debt.