Download Demographic Shifts in America

Polling, Demographics,
and Greying Oh My…
The Make-up of America
Problems with Polling
O What were some of the consistent problems you
found with your polling?
O Take about five minutes and find a poll close to
your topic online, how did your results match with
the scientific polls you found?
O What are the differences you see?
O Why do you think this is the case?
O What bias could have played into this?
O What is a way for professional statisticians to
combat these issues?
Nate Silver on Polling
Terms to Know
O Public Opinion
O Distribution of the population’s beliefs about politics and
policy issues
O Demography
O Science of population change
O Census
O Required every 10 years by the Constitution
O Necessary for understanding population change
O Reapportionment – reallocating seats in the House after
each census
Hidden Socialization
O Race
O Gender
O Gender Gap – regular pattern in
which women are more likely to
support Democratic candidates
O Tend to be less conservative
than men
O More likely to support spending
on social services and oppose
higher levels of military
spending
O Geographic
The Immigrant Society
O United States prides itself on being a nation of
immigrants
O Three waves of
immigration
O NW Europeans
(prior to the late
19th century)
O S and E Europeans
(late 19th and early
20th centuries)
O Hispanics and
Asians (early to mid
20th century)
The American Melting Pot
O Melting pot – mixing of
cultures, ideas, and people
that have changed the
American nation
O Minority Majority –
emergence of a nonCaucasian majority
O Political culture is an overall
set of values widely shared
within a society
The American Melting Pot?
O African Americans face a legacy of racism
O Hispanics are largest minority group faced w/
problem of illegal immigration
O Simpson-Massoli Act (1986) – requires employers
document citizenship of employees
O Asian immigration has been driven by a new class
of professional works
O Native Americans – indigenous and
disadvantaged
The American People
O The Regional Shift
O Population shift from
east to west; north to
south
O Reapportionment – the
process of reallocating
seats in the House of
Representatives every
ten years based on the
census
The American People
O The Graying of America
O Fastest growing age group
is over 65
O Potential drain on Social
Security
O Pay as you go system –
pay in while working and
draw out as needed once
you retire
O In 1942 – 42 workers
per retiree
O In 2040 – 2 workers per
retiree