Twenty-first century ownership: individual and community stakes

Community development

By a Thread: The New Experience of America's Middle Class

Developed in collaboration with the Institute on Assets and Social Policy at Brandeis University, By a Thread: The New Experience of America's Middle Class looks at the financial security of the middle class using the innovative Middle Class Security Index, rating household stability across five core economic factors: assets, educational achievement, housing costs, budget and healthcare. The Index provides a comprehensive portrait of how well middle-class families are faring in each of these areas, with spotlight on the strengths and vulnerabilities of today's middle class

Economic (In)Security: The Experience of the African-American and Latino Middle Classes

As the next installment in the By a Thread series, Economic (In)Security uses the Middle Class Security Index to provide the first comprehensive portrait of the level of financial security enjoyed by African-American and Latino middle-class families. The findings show that, in the wake of fading economic opportunity, these two rapidly growing groups face mounting obstacles in becoming part of, and remaining securely in, America's middle class

From Middle to Shaky Ground: The Economic Decline of America's Middle Class

A middle-class standard of living requires that families have adequate financial security to meet current obligations, invest in the future, and access opportunities. The most recent findings from the Middle Class Security Index show that between 2000 and 2006--even before the most recent economic downturn--the economic well-being of middle-class families slipped noticeably.Between 2000 and 2006 an estimated 4 million middle-class families lost their financial security, bringing the total number of middle-income families on shaky ground to 23 million.These worrisome changes in the overall financial health of the middle class were driven by a decline in assets, rising housing costs, and a growing lack of health insurance

Race, Homeownership and Wealth

Closing the racial wealth gap must be at the forefront of the civil rights agenda in the twenty-first century. This Essay examines homeownership as a main policy strategy to move toward this goal. The Essay opens by restating the crucial importance of closing the racial wealth gap, and offers an early assessment of this agenda. Next, the Essay argues that homeownership is an appropriate strategy to attack the racial wealth gap. Finally, the Essay examines the various promises and many potential pitfalls and challenges facing minority homeownership

A homoleptic phosphine adduct of Tl(I)

A homoleptic phosphine adduct of thallium(I) supported by a tris(phosphino)borate ligand has been isolated and structurally characterized

General-Relativistic MHD for the Numerical Construction of Dynamical Spacetimes

We assemble the equations of general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) in 3+1 form. These consist of the complete coupled set of Maxwell equations for the electromagnetic field, Einstein's equations for the gravitational field, and the equations of relativistic MHD for a perfectly conducting ideal gas. The adopted form of the equations is suitable for evolving numerically a relativistic MHD fluid in a dynamical spacetime characterized by a strong gravitational field.Comment: 8 pages; scheduled for March 10 issue of Ap

Radiation of Angular Momentum by Neutrinos from Merged Binary Neutron Stars

We study neutrino emission from the remnant of an inspiraling binary neutron star following coalescence. The mass of the merged remnant is likely to exceed the stability limit of a cold, rotating neutron star. However, the angular momentum of the remnant may also approach or even exceed the Kerr limit, J/M^2 = 1, so that total collapse may not be possible unless some angular momentum is dissipated. We find that neutrino emission is very inefficient in decreasing the angular momentum of these merged objects and may even lead to a small increase in J/M^2. We illustrate these findings with a post-Newtonian, ellipsoidal model calculation. Simple arguments suggest that the remnant may form a bar mode instability on a timescale similar to or shorter than the neutrino emission timescale, in which case the evolution of the remnant will be dominated by the emission of gravitational waves.Comment: 12 pages AASTeX, 2 figures, to appear in Ap

On the Maximum Mass of Differentially Rotating Neutron Stars

We construct relativistic equilibrium models of differentially rotating neutron stars and show that they can support significantly more mass than their nonrotating or uniformly rotating counterparts. We dynamically evolve such ``hypermassive'' models in full general relativity and show that there do exist configurations which are dynamically stable against radial collapse and bar formation. Our results suggest that the remnant of binary neutron star coalescence may be temporarily stabilized by differential rotation, leading to delayed collapse and a delayed gravitational wave burst.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, uses emulateapj.sty; to appear in ApJ Letter