Figuratively Speaking

Percentage of Americans who say that it is "very important" or "somewhat important" for them to be wealthy, according to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center's Social and Demographic Trends project: 57

Percentage who say it is not important at all: 10

Source: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.

Estimated number of young urban consumers -- ages 12 to 34 -- there are in the United States, according to a report from Packaged Facts: 37 million

Aggregate income of these 37 million young urbanites in 2007: $594 billion

Projected income in 2012, much of which will be spent on luxury items: $684 billion

Source: Packaged Facts.

Percentage of corporate responsibility (CR) practitioners who rate their organizations favorably on their achievement of CR goals, according to a study by Sirota Survey Intelligence: 82

Percentage of providers of CR-related services (those who supply organizations and practitioners with strategic advice and counseling, management consulting, communications solutions, research and development, training/education, advertising and public relations, and other services) who say those organizations' CR efforts have attained their objectives: 53

Source: Sirota Survey Intelligence.

Ranks of Disneyland, Universal Studios, Six Flags Great Adventure, Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Sea World as the top family-friendly vacation spots searched for on the Internet, according to Ask.com: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of the Florida Everglades, the White House, the Statue of Liberty, Yellowstone National Park and Mount Rushmore as the most popular U.S. landmarks searched for on the Internet: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Ask.com.

Estimated number of trips avoided in the last 12 months due to air travelers' frustration, according to a survey by the Travel Industry Association (TIA) and conducted by bipartisan polling firms of Peter D. Hart Research Associates and The Winston Group: 41 million

Estimated cost to the U.S. economy in lost revenue: $26 billion

Estimated cost to the airlines: $9 billion

Estimated cost to hotels: $6 billion

Estimated cost to restaurants: $3 billion

Source: Travel Industry Association of America.

Percentage of college students who reported that they are confident or very confident about their ability to manage their own money, according to a survey by Higher One: 67

Percentage of students who are saving at least 5 percent of their income: 50

Percentage of them who are investing in some way: 22

Source: Higher One.

Percentage of drivers who are admittedly guilty of driving while distracted (DWD), according to a Nationwide Insurance survey: 72

Percentage of Americans -- despite their DWD habits -- who think they are safe drivers: 98

Source: Nationwide Insurance.

Although baby boomers (born 1946-1964) and "matures" (born 1900-1945) have much to offer Generation Y (born 1980-1988) in regards to knowledge and experience, percentage of boomers who report little to no interaction with their Generation Y colleagues: 51

Percentage of matures who report little to no interaction with them: 66

Source: Randstad-USA.

Number of countries that have statutes allowing parents to move to part-time work or otherwise adjust their working hours, according to a survey of 21 high-income countries (including the United States), conducted by the Institute for Women's Policy Research and the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California's Hastings College of the Law: 17

Rank of the U.S. out of the 21 nations in terms of a college-educated woman's (ages 19 to 54) likelihood of participating in the labor market: 21

Source: Institute for Women's Policy Research.

Percentage of workers age 30 and older who say their high school experience had an influence on the job they hold today, according to a survey conducted by CareerBuilder.com: 39

Rank of former cheerleaders among the students most likely to hold a vice president position: 1

Percentage of teacher's pets who now work in administrative/clerical positions, the highest job category percentage of any type of student: 41

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Idle Thought

"Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going." -- Jim Ryun

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)

4520 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. 64111; (816) 932-6600

Percentage of meeting agendas that are appropriately prepared, according to Proudfoot's Consulting Business Review findings: 41

Percentage where there is clear communication and preparation before the meeting: 49

Percentage that are attended punctually and with appropriate attendance: 39

Source: Proudfoot Consulting.

Percentage of hiring managers at traditional hourly employment standbys such as retailers and restaurants who say they do not intend to take on any new seasonal workers in 2008, a consequence of the uncertain economy, according to a survey conducted by snagajob.com: 49

Percentage of hiring managers surveyed who agreed with the statement that "today's youth do not have the same work ethic as previous generations have had": 56

Percentage of hiring managers who say the most important thing they look for in an applicant is a positive attitude and an eagerness to want the job: 39

Source: SnagAJob.com.

Percentage of employees who describe their wireless device as a necessity: 38

Percentage of survey respondents who admit to putting their wireless device down only when they are sleeping: 25

Percentage of respondents who admit to being 100 percent off-line when not in the office (down from 8 percent last year): 5

Source: Yahoo! HotJobs.

Percentage of fathers who would sacrifice an exciting job for more time with their children, according to a survey conducted by Spike TV's "State of Men 2008" in partnership with national research firm Penn, Schoen & Berland: 73

Percentage of fathers today who are also at least "somewhat willing" to be stay-at-home dads -- a 13-point increase from 2004: 73

Percentage of men who indicated that what defines a man most is being a good husband and father: 80

Source: Spike TV.

Percentage of adults in the U.S. who believe that the government should tax the wealthy more, according to a Financial Times/Harris Poll: 62

Percentage of adults in France (the lowest percentage in the countries polled) who agree: 51

Percentage of adults in the U.K. who agree: 56

Percentage of adults in Japan (the highest percentage in the countries polled) who agree: 77

Source: Harris Interactive.

Average number of vehicles per household in the U.S. in both 2001 and 2008, according to U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration and Transportation Energy Consumption Surveys: 1.9

Average number of gallons of gas consumed per household in 2001: 573

Average number in 2008: 597

Average price per gallon in 2001 (allowing for adjustment in today's dollar value), according to Oil Price Information Service in cooperation with Wright Express, distributed by AAA: $1.78

Average price per gallon today: $3.80

Source: Campaign for America's Future.

Percentage of respondents who do not know that you have to pay both the interest on your entire balance as well as a late fee when making a late credit card payment, according to a survey by the Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy: 69

Percentage of respondents who cannot identify the percentage that service fees typically take out of a $20 ATM withdrawal: 97

Percentage of respondents who knew that you can withdraw money from a Roth IRA for education expenses, your first home purchase and retirement spending: 16

Source: Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy.

Percentage of Americans who would lose their house or apartment if hit by an unexpected short-term job loss, according to a survey conducted by Zogby International: 22

Percentage who say they know someone who has gone through or is being forced to sell their home because of a foreclosure: 30

If forced to sell their home today, percentage who say they would buy another home rather than rent: 50

Source: Zogby International.

Percentage of Americans who plan to tackle home improvement projects in the next few months, most of them spending more than $1,000, according to an Ace Hardware survey: 25

Percentage who are engaging their family for time and money-saving help: 49

Percentage who are asking their friends: 46

Source: Ace Hardware.

Percentage of chief financial officers (CFOs) who said they view consulting as an attractive segue into retirement, according to a survey developed by Robert Half International: 75

Percentage of CFOs who identified being able to remain in the workforce but work fewer hours as one of the greatest benefits of consulting: 47

Source: Robert Half International.

Idle Thought

"It is an ironic habit of human beings to run faster when we have lost our way." -- Rollo May, psychologist

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)

4520 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. 64111; (816) 932-6600

Rank of the U.S. among the world's most competitive economies, according to a survey conducted by the IMD business school that ranked 55 global economies according to 331 criteria that measure how each creates and maintains conditions favorable to business: 1

Number of years in a row the U.S. has ranked No. 1: 15

Ranks of Singapore, Hong Kong, Switzerland and Luxembourg: 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: IMD.

Percentage by which gas mileage is lowered by aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) on the highway, according to the Department of Energy: 33

Percentage by which it is lowered by aggressive driving around town: 5

For each 5 mph driven above 60 mph, estimated additional cost per gallon of gas: $0.20

Source: Governors Highway Safety Association.

Percentage of married women who maintain a "honey-do" list, according to a survey sponsored by Mighty Putty: 94

Percentage of women who were likely to have between one and nine tasks on their list: 71

Percentage of those tasks that remain unfinished for weeks, months or even years: 78

Source: Nature's Pillows.

Estimated amount of money given by U.S. religious congregations of all denominations to the developing world in 2006 for relief and development in poor countries (figure excludes support for evangelism), according to the 2008 Index of Global Philanthropy, which is published annually by the Hudson Institute's Center for Global Prosperity: $8.8 billion

Official U.S. government aid in 2006: $23.5 billion

Source: Hudson Institute.

Percentage of the Silent Generation (born 1925 to 1945) who report that all of their childhood family vacations included some interaction with nature, according to a study by Vollmer Public Relations for Travelocity: 25

Percentage of families traveling with kids today who say the same: 15

Percentage of time that today's families with children spend at amusement parks: 13

Percentage of time that the Silent Generation visited amusement parks: 6

Source: Vollmer Public Relations.

Percentage of financial executives from oil and gas companies who think that the price per barrel of crude oil will drop below $100 by the end of the year, according to the KPMG survey: 55

Percentage who think that the price will close between $101 and $110: 21

Percentage who think between $111 and $120: 15

Source: KPMG LLP.

Percentage of adults across the U.S. who enjoy grilling food outside, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 33

Decade when outdoor grilling became popular and when charcoal briquettes were first sold by Henry Ford, made from scrap wood left over from the body framing of his Model T's: 1920s

Number of pounds of beef that each American consumes every year: 62

Number of pounds of poultry: 74

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of employees who say that they left their jobs to seek new challenges or opportunities that were lacking with their previous employers, according to a study by Right Management: 30

Percentage of respondents who reported leaving employers because of ineffective leadership: 25

Percentage who cited poor relationships with their managers: 22

Average percentage increase of an employee's salary that it costs to replace an employee (this includes recruitment, training, severance, lost productivity and lost opportunities): 300

Source: Right Management.

Percentage of all U.S. heads of household who have never used e-mail, according to National Technology Scan, a forthcoming study from Parks Associates: 21

Percentage who have never used a computer to create a document: 30

Source: Parks Associates.

Percentage of employers that "offshored" jobs that said offshoring has already enabled them to create new, better jobs of different types in the United States, according to a survey conducted by CareerBuilder.com: 28

Among employers who offshore, percentage who say less than 5 percent of their jobs will be sent overseas: 44

Percentage who say more than 10 percent of their jobs will be offshored: 39

Percentage of employees whose jobs were displaced by offshoring who say that they were let go by their employer: 71

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Idle Thought

"If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn't thinking." -- George Patton

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)

4520 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. 64111; (816) 932-6600