Movies, Music, and Sports: U.S. Entertainment Spending, 2008-2013

[Excerpt] This Beyond the Numbers article examines entertainment spending from 2008 to 2013 and breaks the spending down into its four parts: fees and admissions; audio and visual equipment and services; pets, toys, hobbies, and playground equipment; and other entertainment supplies, equipment, and services. This article also analyzes the relationships between entertainment spending and 1) income, 2) education, and 3) age

Consumer Expenditures Vary by Age

The Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) publishes information classified by characteristics such as income, household size, and age of the reference person. This article uses 2013 CE data to examine the relationship between age and consumer expenditures. This relationship is important because the aging of the baby-boom generation will influence the overall level and composition of consumer spending in the years to come

The Masculinity Mandate: #MeToo, Brett Kavanaugh, and Christine Blasey Ford

In fall 2019, the Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings involving Dr. Christine Blasey Ford\u27s testimony about then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh\u27s alleged behavior at a high school party gone awry. This essay uses identity performance and multidimensional masculinities theories to analyze the hearings, specifically to consider the gender, race, and class performances of the participants, and how partisans and non-partisans interpreted those performances. This examination demonstrates that the judgment concerning masculinity and femininity performances and their appropriateness is, to a certain extent, in the eye of the beholder. By the same token, public interpretations are not arbitrary. Rather, at least in this context, power differentials based on gender, race, and class appear to have influenced the public reaction to these performances and the interpretation of what constitutes appropriate masculine and feminine behavior. Moreover, the perceived appropriateness of these behaviors governs who the winners and losers will be. In this case, upper-middleclass white males won while women of all races and classes lost. Although it was not immediately obvious how class and race influenced the process because both main participants are of a similar class and race, deeper analysis demonstrates that white, upper-middle class, male power affects how the participants were perceived and judged. Class, race, and gender were certainly present in the calculation of winners and losers. Part II of this essay establishes the theoretical basis for my analysis, explaining masculinities, identity performance, and multidimensional theories. Part III uses these theories to analyze the various performances as well as the public reactions to those performances. Finally, this essay concludes that gender, race, and class affect judgments in this context, and the Senate should write rules to assure that a fairer and more accurate process takes place in the future in the hopes of breaking the strangleholds of traditional gendered, raced, and classed power

New Education Classification Better Reflects Income and Spending Patterns in the Consumer Expenditure Survey

An individual’s level of education and associated earnings profoundly influence spending patterns. Published Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) data shown average expenditures, income, and other consumer unit (CU) characteristics classified by education of the reference person. With the release of calendar year 2012 CE data on September 10, 2013, the education of reference person classification was replaced by the highest education level of any member in the consumer unit. The major reason for this change is that the highest level of education attained by any household member more accurately reflects income and spending patterns than does the education level of the reference person only. For example, data from the Census Bureau show that the proportion of married couples where the wife is the more educated spouse increased during the 1996–2010 period. This means that the education level in families where the husband is designated as the reference person could be understated. Table 1 shows selected characteristics, mean annual expenditures, and expenditure shares for consumer units classified by the highest level of education of any CU member, which is the new breakdown. Table 2 presents the same data classified by education of the reference person, which is the old breakdown. (Both tables show data for 2012.

Household Healthcare Spending in 2014

This Beyond the Numbers article uses 2014 CE data to examine household spending on healthcare and its components. The article first examines the relationship between healthcare spending and household pretax income and then the relationship between healthcare spending and the age of the reference person

Hispanic Household Spending in 2015

Although the Hispanic population has grown more slowly in recent years, it still exerts a powerful influence on the U.S. economy. Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) data show that, in 2015, households with a reference person of Hispanic or Latino origin were 13 percent of the sample, compared with 12.2 percent in 2010 and 10.6 percent in 2005. This Beyond the Numbers article uses 2015 CE data to examine spending by households with a Hispanic or Latino reference person, compared with households without a Hispanic or Latino reference person. (In the article, for convenience, “Hispanic or Latino” is shortened to “Hispanic.”) Spending by Hispanic households is compared with spending by households with a non-Hispanic White reference person and spending by households with a non-Hispanic Black or African-American reference person

A Closer Look at the Spending Patterns of Older Americans

The aging of the United States population will influence the economy for many years to come. The Census Bureau projects that in 2050, the population aged 65 and older will be 83.7 million, almost double its estimate of 43.1 million in 2012. This article examines the spending patterns of households with a reference person age 55 and older. Age 55 was chosen because the article focuses on spending changes that occur as household members age and transition to retirement as well as during retirement. Understanding expenditure patterns in later life is crucial to evaluating financial security in retirement. This analysis uses integrated data from the 2014 Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE), which separates the 55-and-older age range into three groups: ages 55–64, 65–74, and 75 and older