Percentage of the current U.S. debt that was accumulated during Republican presidential terms : 71
Portion of debt-ceiling elevations since 1960 that have been signed into law by Republican presidents : 2/3
Percentage of profits American corporations paid in taxes in 1961 : 40.6
Today : 10.5
Portion of the increase in U.S. corporate profit margins since 2001 that has come from depressed wages : 3/4
Percentage of Americans who say they did not have money to buy food at all times last year : 18.2
Percentage change in the median household wealth of white families since 2005 : –16
Of Hispanic families : –66
Number of minors sent back to Mexico by U.S. immigration authorities in 2010 : 20,438
Percentage who were sent unaccompanied by an adult : 57
Percentage of the world’s population that could fit in Texas by living with the population density of New York City : 100
Estimated value of government subsidies that will go to the oil and gas industries between now and 2015 : $78,155,000,000
Average amount the tooth fairy left for a tooth in 2010, according to a survey by Visa : $3
Average so far in 2011 : $2.60
Price for an iPad case made out of Bernie Madoff’s Polo Ralph Lauren blue chinos : $350
Percentage of millionaires who said in a July survey that they are concerned about global unrest : 94
Percentage of Egyptians who say they want the new government to amend or abandon the Camp David accords : 70
Estimated number of Syrians killed during pro-democracy protests since March : 1,700
Number of people killed in Ecuador since July by bootleg liquor : 35
Portion of the Indian Ocean that is underexplored by scientists because of pirates : 1/4
Amount an unemployed Utah man is charging for the opportunity to hunt and kill him : $10,000
Portion of non-interest federal spending that is dedicated to programs for the elderly : 1/3
Chance that a person will remember something if he thinks he can look it up later : 1 in 5
If he thinks he cannot : 1 in 3
Percentage of U.S. college grades that are A’s : 43
Portion of America’s college students who attend for-profit schools : 1/10 (see page 51)
Portion of federal financial aid that goes to such schools : 1/4
Portion of college students who believe alcohol improves their ability to tell jokes : 3/4
Who believe it improves their sexual encounters : 1/3
Percent increase in armed robberies at pharmacies since 2006 : 81
Chance that an American fast-food customer uses posted calorie information to make food-buying decisions : 1 in 6
Number of states in which less than 20 percent of adults are obese : 0
Percentage of private-sector workers who believe that public-sector workers receive better benefits : 60
Percentage of public-sector workers who believe this : 44
Percentage of Americans who believe China has passed or will pass the United States as the world’s leading superpower : 46
Percentage of Chinese who do : 63
Of French : 72
Percentage of Americans who say they would vote for a well-qualified homosexual candidate for president : 67
For a well-qualified atheist : 49
Percentage of Americans in a July poll who said they approve of God’s job performance : 52
Figures cited are the latest available as of August 2011. Sources are listed on page 68.
October 2011
