Figuratively Speaking

Number of pounds of food waste disposed of by food manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers combined in 2011, according to a study from the Food Waste Reduction Alliance, Grocery Manufacturers Association, the Food Marketing Institute and the National Restaurant Association: 4.1 billion

In addition, number of pounds of food waste disposed of by consumers per person per month: 20

Source: Food, Nutrition & Science.

Percentage of Americans who believe civility has declined in recent years, according to a poll by Weber Shandwick and public affairs firm Powell Tate partnered with KRC Research on Civility in America: 71

Percentage who expect the decline to continue: 54

On average, number of times per day that Americans encounter incivility: 2

Source: Weber Shandwick.

Despite challenging economic times, percentage of college students who think of volunteering at a nonprofit as a way to develop skills and gain the experience needed to land a future job, according to the 2013 Deloitte Volunteer IMPACT Survey: 46

Percentage of HR executives who say that when evaluating a job candidate, experience gained through skilled volunteering would be taken into account: 81

Source: Deloitte.

Percentage of Americans who have student loan debt, according to a Country Financial Security Index survey: 20

Percentage who say their education loans are affecting decisions, such as getting married, buying a home and/or saving for retirement: 55

Source: Country Financial.

Estimated percentage of business-to-business (B2B) marketers and salespeople who think customer-related-management (CRM) systems don't always capture or provide the information needed to close bigger and higher-margin deals, according to a poll by Corporate Visions Inc.: 80

Percentage of respondents who said their companies required them to use a CRM system to track their activities: 87

Percentage who agreed that they simply "check the boxes," which does not provide them with useful assistance for closing business: 78

Source: Corporate Visions Inc.

Percentage of people who get into a tizzy about packing, according to a survey by Contactspod: 22

Percentage who need to write a checklist: 44

Percentage of respondents who need at least one day to prepare: 20

Percentage who allocate one or two hours packing time: 33

Source: Contactspod by Polaroid.

Percentage of Americans who say the country should mind its own business internationally and let other countries get along as best they can on their own, according to the Pew Research Centre: 46

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

Today, percentage of college costs that are paid for by scholarships and grants, up from 25 percent four years ago, according to a national study from Sallie Mae and Ipsos: 30

Average amount of such aid, up from $4,859 in 2009: $6,355

Percentage of college expenses that parents now fund from income and savings, down from 2010's peak funding of 37 percent: 27

Parents' average annual out-of-pocket spending, down from $8,752 in 2010: $5,727

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of smartphone photographers -- those who've taken at least 10 photos in the last three months -- who now use only their smartphone to take photos, according to a study by Suite 48 Analytics: 58

Percentage of respondents who use both their smartphone and their digital camera: 33

Source: Suite 48 Analytics.

Estimated number of children -- one every 30 minutes -- who are treated in emergency rooms across the country for TV-related injuries every year, according to a study released by the American Academy of Pediatrics calling attention to the dangers of TV tip-overs: 17,000

Percentage of children injured by TV tip-overs who are 5 years old or younger: 70

Source: Sanus.

Idle Thought

"Every increased possession loads us with new weariness." -- John Ruskin, author

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

Estimated amount of money that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's first-born child could inherit in royal legacy from the fortunes of the immediate members of the British royal family, including Queen Elizabeth II and Princes Philip, Charles and William, according to Wealth-X: $1 billion

Source: Wealth-X.

Estimated percentage of private-sector workers who qualify for a pension, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (down from more than four in five in the early 1980s): 20

Average pension for which members of Congress qualify through federal pension programs, according to a Bankrate.com analysis: $40,000 plus

Initial annual Social Security benefit for those who earn a middle-class salary most of their life and retire at 65, according to federal government estimates: $18,234

Initial annual Social Security for members of Congress: $30,156

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Percentage of people taking part in a study commissioned by American Express who felt their breathing rate decrease from 16.7 cycles per minute to 10.2 cycles per minute as they relaxed and became happier when thinking about great service: 68

Percentage of participants who felt their heart rate increase from a baseline of approximately 76 beats per minute to 87 beats per minute when thinking about providing great service: 74

Source: American Express.

Percentage of millennials in their 20s with at least some college education who claim to be "totally independent" now as compared to 2011 (23 percent), according to the second nationwide survey by the PNC Financial Services Group Inc.: 17

Percentage of 20- to 29-year-olds with some college who rate themselves behind where they expected to be in terms of financial success (a 26 percent increase since 2011): 58

Percentage of those who do not identify as "totally independent" who are determined to be independent soon: 60

Source: PNC Wealth Management.

Of the 60,000 to 100,000 small businesses negatively affected by Hurricane Sandy, percentage that are estimated to have failed as a direct result of the storm, according to a report from Small Business Majority and the American Sustainable Business Council: 30

Estimated percentage of small to mid-sized businesses that do not reopen following a major disaster: 25

Source: Small Business Majority.

Ranks of Luanda, Angola; Moscow; Tokyo; Ndjamena, Chad; Singapore and Hong Kong on the list the world's costliest locations for expatriates, according to Mercer's latest Cost of Living survey: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Cost of a cup of coffee in Moscow, compared to $1.54 in Managua, Nicaragua: $8.29

Cost of a luxury two-bedroom, unfurnished apartment rental for one month in Moscow, or 14 times as much as one in Karachi, Pakistan: $4,600

Source: Mercer.

Percentage of Americans who say journalists contribute "a lot" to society's well-being, a 10 percentage point drop from four years ago, according to a Pew Research Center report: 28

Number of occupational groups (business executives and lawyers) that received lower marks than journalists: 2

Ranks of members of the military (78 percent) and teachers (72 percent) on the list of professions that contribute "a lot" to society's well-being: 1, 2

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

Percentage of workers who indicated they would not have a problem looking for new employment before leaving their current firm, according to a survey by Accountemps: 73

Percentage of respondents between the ages of 18 and 34 who said they are likely to conduct job-search activities at work: 48

Percentage of professionals between the ages of 35 and 44 who expressed a similar willingness: 26

Source: Accountemps.

Of the 2,000 individuals nominated for their snoring by their spouses in a contest for a sleep-positioning system, perentage who were male, according to a survey commissioned by Protect-A-Bed: 55

Percentage of female nominees: 45

Percentage of respondents who indicated that their snorer produced unwanted animal sounds, ranging from a "wounded warthog" to a "cat in heat": 15

Percentage of respondents who noted that the snorer in their life sounds like heavy machinery during sleep: 26

Source: Protect-A-Bed.

Percentage of consumers who plan to spend up to $500 this back-to-school shopping season, compared to 63 percent in 2012 and 48 percent in 2011, according to the results of a PriceGrabber survey: 68

Percentage of respondents who plan to spend between $500 and $1,000: 17

Source: PriceGrabber.com.

Idle Thought

"Seek not to follow in the footsteps of men of old; seek what they sought." -- Matsuo Basho, poet

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

Percentage of baby boomers (set to inherit a total of $7.6 trillion in their lifetimes, a figure more than $1.7 trillion greater than China's 2012 GDP) who will receive an inheritance, according to the Boston College Center for Retirement Research: 66

Projected percentage of that legacy they will lose, and not because of taxes: 70

By the end of their children's lives -- the third generation -- percentage of family fortunes that will be gone: 90

Source: Boston College's Center on Wealth and Philanthropy.

Amount of money unauthorized immigrants pay each year in state and local taxes, according to an analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy: $10.6 billion

Estimated annual revenue increase for all 50 states and the District of Columbia should undocumented immigrants currently in the U.S. be allowed to work here legally: $2 billion

Source: Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

By 2018, projected net worth of 2013 Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, through prize money and endorsements, propelling him into the second spot after Maria Sharapova and ahead of Novak Djokovic, according to Wealth-X: $160 million

Source: Wealth-X.

Percentage of homeowners who feel they have earned an "A" grade in home energy conservation, according to the findings of the 2013 Lennox Home Energy Report Card survey: 23

Percentage of homeowners who say the motivation for energy conservation is saving money: 57

Percentage who say it's the importance of protecting the environment: 38

Source: Lennox Industries.

Number of times more often that drivers aged 16 to 17 years are involved in crashes per mile driven compared to drivers in their 40s, 50s or 60s, according to a study conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety: 7

Source: AAA.

Percentage of people who already swim or want to start swimming who believe that it is the only sport that can be done for life, according to global research commissioned by Speedo: 73

Percentage who believe swimming provides a better workout and results in a better body than any other form of exercise: 86

Percentage who feel more physically fit as a result of swimming: 71

Source: Speedo.

Percentage of all buyers of addictive pain medications in the U.S. who were estimated to be "doctor shoppers" (persons who seek prescriptions for the same drugs from different physicians without telling them about other prescribers), according to a study from ABT Associates published in the journal PLOS ONE: 1

Although they constituted a small portion of patients prescribed opioid pain killers, estimated number of prescriptions they purchased (almost 2 percent of all prescriptions for highly controlled opioids): 4.3 million

Source: ABT Associates.

Percentage of workers who admitted it is at least somewhat likely they would leave their current position if they felt disengaged, according to a survey developed by OfficeTeam: 61

Percentage of respondents who said their company is at least somewhat effective in keeping workers motivated: 74

Source: OfficeTeam.

Percentage of chief financial officers who said international experience will be at least somewhat necessary for accounting and finance staff five years from now, according to a survey from Robert Half Management Resources: 69

Percentage of CFOs at companies with 1,000 or more employees who feel accountants will need international experience: 99

Even at the smallest firms (20 to 49 employees), percentage of executives who say accounting and finance staff will need more than a U.S. perspective on the job: 67

Source: Robert Half Management Resources.

Percentage of America's insurance brokers, shaken by wide-ranging changes to the nation's health care system and economic unrest, who are considering exiting the health insurance business altogether, according to the 2013 Aflac WorkForces Report for Brokers: 45

Percentage who are only somewhat or not at all confident about the future of their firm and industry: 51

Source: Aflac Inc.

Idle Thought

"You must have been warned against letting the golden hours slip by. Yes, but some of them are golden only because we let them slip by." -- James M. Barrie

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