--- title: "Data Feed: Catholic voting, March consumer confidence, low-wage workers, geography of smoking" description: "A daily roundup of fresh data from scholars, governments, think tanks, pollsters and other social science researchers." date: "2014-03-25" authors: - name: "George Gao" job_title: "Former " link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/george-gao/" url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2014/03/25/data-feed-political-spending-on-ads-low-wage-workers-smoking-habits-compulsory-voting/" --- # Data Feed: Catholic voting, March consumer confidence, low-wage workers, geography of smoking *A daily roundup of fresh data from scholars, governments, think tanks, pollsters and other social science researchers.* **Politics** [GOP, Democrats even in generic Congressional ballot](http://www.tarrance.com/docs/BG54charts.pdf), GWU Battleground Poll [Obama better at protecting environment than improving energy policy](http://www.gallup.com/poll/168068/americans-view-obama-better-environment-energy.aspx), Gallup [Catholic vote tends to track the broader electorate](http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2014/03/25/seib-the-elusive-catholic-vote/), The Wall Street Journal [Little relationship between public opinion, policymakers' agendas](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2014/03/24/how-policymakers-ignore-the-publics-priorities/), The Washington Post [Comparing top GOP and Democratic advertisers' activity](http://cookpolitical.com/story/6994), The Cook Political Report [Most Americans say U.S. doesn't have a responsibility in Ukraine](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/poll-most-say-us-doesnt-have-a-responsibility-in-ukraine/), CBS News **Economy** [Consumer confidence rebounds in March](http://www.conference-board.org/press/pressdetail.cfm?pressid=5137), The Conference Board [Millennials aren't abandoning brick-and-mortar banks](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/03/24/millennials-arent-abandoning-brick-and-mortar-banks/?wpisrc=nl_wnkpm), [Bankrate](http://www.bankrate.com/finance/consumer-index/financial-security-charts-0314.aspx) via Washington Post [4.3% of hourly paid workers earned federal minimum wage or less](http://www.bls.gov/cps/minwage2013.pdf), BLS [Manufacturers ended 2013 with strong profit growth](http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2014/03/24/manufacturers-ended-2013-with-strong-profit-growth/), The Wall Street Journal [Grad students driving growing student-debt burden](http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303949704579459803223202602?mg=reno64-wsj), New America Foundation via WSJ [Are low-wage workers more likely to lose their jobs to computers?](http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/your-new-fast-food-worker-a-robot/) FiveThirtyEight [Who pays the most income taxes? People ages 45 and older](http://money.cnn.com/2014/03/24/pf/taxes/middle-aged-taxpayers/index.html?iid=HP_LN), CNN Money [Most payday borrowers take out at least seven loans in a row](http://money.cnn.com/2014/03/25/pf/payday-loans/index.html), [CFPB](http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201403_cfpb_report_payday-lending.pdf) via CNN Money **Health & Society** [Vulnerable populations least informed but most optimistic about ACA](http://pressroom.usc.edu/obamacare-42-percent-of-americans-cant-explain-a-deductible/), USC [Insurance agents key to Calif.'s success enrolling Asian Americans](http://capsules.kaiserhealthnews.org/index.php/2014/03/insurance-agents-key-to-california-success-enrolling-asian-americans), Kaiser Health News [Health insurance affordability prior to ACA rollout, by state](http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Publications/Fund-Reports/2014/Mar/Americas-Underinsured.aspx?omnicid=20), The Commonwealth Fund [Cities where the poor are most segregated from everyone else](http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2014/03/us-cities-where-poor-are-most-segregated/8655/), The Atlantic Cities [Provo-Orem, Utah, leads U.S. communities in well-being index](http://www.gallup.com/poll/167984/provo-orem-utah-leads-communities.aspx), Gallup [Doctors paid to advise, promote drug companies that fund their research](http://www.propublica.org/article/double-dip-doctors-paid-to-advise-promote-drug-companies-that-fund-research), ProPublica [U.S. smoking declines driven by handful of counties](http://www.healthmetricsandevaluation.org/news-events/news-release/small-number-counties-lead-way-reducing-smoking-rates-us), IHME (also [NYT writeup](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/25/health/smoking-stays-stubbornly-high-among-the-poor.html?hp&_r=0)) [Mentally challenging jobs may stress you out today, but keep you sharp later](http://home.isr.umich.edu/releases/mentally-challenging-jobs-may-keep-your-mind-sharp-long-after-retirement/), U. Mich. **International **[Man-made climate change contributed to some extreme weather in 2013](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/03/24/sick-of-the-winter-chill-new-research-shows-why-the-planet-is-still-heating-up/), WMO via WaPo [65% of Europeans have internet access at home, 52% have mobile access](http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_414_en.pdf), Eurobarometer [Gender gap in U.K. life expectancy at birth narrowed 2 years since 1982](http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lifetables/national-life-tables/2010---2012/stb-uk-2010-2012.html), ONS [Estimated 7 million global deaths resulted from air pollution exposure](http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2014/air-pollution/en/), [report](http://www.who.int/phe/health_topics/outdoorair/databases/FINAL_HAP_AAP_BoD_24March2014.pdf?ua=1), WHO [In 2011, half of young adults in Europe were living with parents](http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2014/mar/24/young-adults-still-living-with-parents-europe-country-breakdown), Eurofound via Guardian [Where voting is compulsory, who supports/opposes it?](http://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/insights/IO904en.pdf) Vanderbilt/LAPOP *Got new data to share? Send it to us via email *[*facttank@pewresearch.org*](mailto:facttank@pewresearch.org)* or Tweet us *[*@FactTank*](http://www.twitter.com/facttank)*.*