explore-blog:

Mapping the distribution of higher education in America. Compare and contrast with the distribution of poverty:

deviouslybored:

Ah yay!

thecultofgenius:

Forensic reconstruction of Nicolaus Copernicus.

theatlantic:

The Astonishing Growth of Government Spending on the Poor

Market wages have declined for the poorest 40 percent of the country and more than 33% for the bottom fifth. Without means-tested government transfers, income inequality would be much, much worse. With means-tested government transfers (particularly for health care) income inequality is at least somewhat mitigated.

Read more. [Image: Rorschach]

theatlantic:

The New Math of Some Things That Have Lately Been Untouched by Technology

ilovecharts:

Today I saw that Romney claimed that the president will lie during the debates. I thought I would look at their records on Politifact.com to see how reliable each candidate has been. Out of the statements analyzed by Politifact, this is the percent of things they have said that have been on the spectrum of true and false, for Obama and Romney.

This isn’t perfect, since Obama has been rated more frequently than Romney has. Still, it’s interesting to see how often each candidate gets rated in each category.

-birdmechanical 

theatlantic:

7,000 Millionaires Paid No Income Taxes in 2011

[Image: Derek Thompson]

discoverynews:

“It’s also important to note that income tax is just one of several federal taxes.

The payroll tax, which funds Medicare and Social Security, is another big source of revenue for the government. And most households that don’t pay income tax do pay payroll tax.”

— NPR

sunfoundation:

The 47 Percent, In One Graphic

Mitt Romney’s comments regarding the 47 percent of Americans who pay no income tax is getting lots of attention today. Our colleague Mark Memmott explains the context.

Here’s a closer look at the numbers.