I'm going out canvassing tomorrow so I thought I'd check out the data in the "New New Deal". I haven't read the book yet but its apparently about how the $840 Billion dollars of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is being spent; shovel worthy rather than just shovel ready.
Recovery in your zip code
People seem to have the idea that because we have a do nothing Congress tied up in gridlock trying to obstruct Obama by whatever means necessary, nothing effective is being done to help the economy recover. Preparing myself for talking to my neighbors I'm looking forward to reading this book and think it might go well with this online list of things Obama has done in his first term thus far.
Obama Achievements
Canvassing takes a couple of hours maybe once a week. In my small chunk of mid coastal Maine the contributions map shows a preponderance of money coming from contributions to the Democrats, but a lot of people who think of themselves as independents and don't contribute money are horribly misinformed and still vote.
Political Contributions by County
Under the options tap you can search by Zip Code instead of County and get a slightly different focus. Going door to door and talking to people in small towns can be interesting. In some areas of Rockport I encounter more non citizen ineligible to vote maids and gardeners than likely voters but in other areas I'm talking to people involved in the healthcare industry. Its worth a quick look at the town demographics.
Income Distribution
Mid coastal Maine has an aging population because young people tend to leave looking for jobs and education. Those who remain are often either comfortably retired or worked hard all their llifetime no help from their friends right wing evangelicals.
About half of the people in town get by on less than $30 K a year; the sort of income you get from social security plus minimum wage while the other half averages about $65 K. which covers the small business and professional middle class. About three percent of the town is in the 1% range for income.