All politics is local and other truths to live by….

by jglear

05/18/2011 3:48 PM

Former Speaker of the House, Thomas (Tip) O’Neill of Massachusetts famously said “All politics is local.” From our GW perch in Washington, DC, it’s easy to forget that. But local and state governments pay for 90% of the cost of K –12 schools and are essential partners in funding health care for low-income children, covering about 40% of total costs. Which brings us back to Speaker O’Neill and the just-released data from the Census Bureau focusing on census data from 10 states (Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Puerto Rico and Wisconsin) bringing the total of state reports to 26. Folks interested in peering into the future of their state – Will school systems grow? Will the workforce and taxpayers be sufficient to support the schools? And assessing the issues that will be foremost in the minds of community and state leaders will want to look at these data. In coming months we can expect more community and neighborhood data as well.