For Richer or Poorer: How States Fair In Federal Taxes and Benefits

The citizens and businesses in every state of the union of course pay federal taxes that ultimately get redistributed in many forms as government benefits. The table and graphic below, based on data regularly assembled by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, convey a feel for the direction of these transfers. The data clearly identify which states have donor roles in this process (states in which the ratio is below $1.00) and recipient states (those that have a ratio in excess of $1.00).

Night Shift: US Workers Getting Less Sleep

Nearly a third of workers in the U.S. aren't getting enough sleep, according to a new government report released yesterday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Overall, 30 percent of employed U.S. adults reported getting less than six hours of sleep a night, according to the CDC. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that healthy adults get seven to nine hours of sleep.

People who usually work the night shift — especially those in transportation, warehousing, health care and social assistance industries — were more likely than day-shift workers to report not getting enough sleep. Forty-four percent of the night shift workers participating in the survey said they got less than six hours of sleep, compared with 29 percent of workers with day shifts.

In Herkimer County about one out of every twenty workers works a late or night shift. In Oneida County almost one in twelve workers works the late or night shift. The table below shows the time that workers leave for work in both counties for both the Census 2000 and the American Communities Survey Five Year Estimate covering 2006-2010. 

Pain at the Pump: An Infographic on Gas Prices in the US

Although this was created based on data from early March, it does take an interesting look at gasoline prices as a percent of annual income.

Traffic Fatality Data Mapped for US

ITO World, a transport information specialist group based in the UK, produces mapping and visualizations to help people understand and analyze complex transport data. Their clients include Google, the UK Department of Transport and also many transport agencies and operators.

One of the mapping functions they have available shows traffic fatalities for anyplace in the US. The fatality data for the USA is supplied via the Fatality Analysis Reporting System of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Their site can be used to view information about virtually every fatality that occurred on roads in the United States as a result of a collision involving a motor vehicle between between 1 January 2001 and 31 December 2009. For each incident you will be able to see the person's age, sex and the year in which the crash took place. Where information is not available fields are left blank.

To see local data, you can look at this map of the Herkimer and Oneida Counties region. To look at other locations, enter a place name into the search box, press return and then select the correct result from the results list. If the place is not listed then try a larger place nearby.

Earth Day 2012: Recycling in Herkimer and Oneida Counties

Managing the waste our region generates is everyone’s responsibility. Preserving the environment through recovery and disposal is the stated mission of the Herkimer Oneida County Solid Waste Authority. The Authority was created more than 20 years ago by both Oneida and Herkimer Counties who voted to create a comprehensive solid waste management system.

Components of this self-contained system include:

• Recycling
• Waste reduction - including a regional compost facility
• Waste disposal - including solid waste, hazardous household waste, and construction and demolition debris

Dedicated to advancing solid waste solutions in an environmentally friendly way, the Authority has pioneered the greening of Oneida and Herkimer Counties. This includes a regional recycling program that is regarded as one of the most expansive in the country that includes both school and community recycling programs. As a result, the Authority has helped our community become a national model for solid waste management systems.
Since 1991, the Herkimer Oneida County Solid Waste Authority has run its Recycling Center which  accepted recyclables from households, businesses, industries, schools, and institutions in the two-county area. Since opening, the Authority has processed over 700,000 tons of recyclable material.

In July of 2011, the Authority began the process of upgrading the Recycling Center. A new, state-of-the-art single stream processing system will take the place of the previous dual stream processing system. The project is expected to be complete in December of 2011.

The Authority is currently accepting all recyclable items- paper, plastic, metal and glass- mixed together. Plastic #7 has been added to the list of acceptable material. Items will continue to be added to the list of acceptable material as recycling markets are secured for additional items.

Here are some three charts showing the state of recycling in Herkimer and Oneida Counties in 2011. they come from the Solid Waste Authority 2011 Annual Report.

2011 Recycling Revenue	2011 Recycling Tonnage	2011 Recycled Hazardous Materials