Startling Statistics

Dear Gentle Reader,
Today I read some astonishing figures from the February issue of Harper’s Magazine. Here are some of the more provocative statistics. with their references.

(1) Percentage of Americans who say that fighting terrorism should be one of the nation’s top two priorities: 6.

(2) Number of people whom Coalition forces hav eimprisoned in Iraq at some point since March 2003: 48,526

(3) Percentage of those who have been convicted of a crime: 1.5

(4) Percentage change since 1999 in federal prosecutions of white-collar crime: -25

(5) Estimated amount the U.S. would save each year on paperwork if it adopted single-payer health care: $161 billion

(6) Estimated amount spent in the U.S. each year to treat ACL injuries in dogs: $1 billion 320 million.
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Footnotes

(1) Harris Interactive (Rochester, NY)
(2) Detainee Operations, Multinational Force—Iraq (Baghdad)
(3) Detainee Operations, Multinational Force—Iraq (Baghdad)
(4) Transactional Records Clearinghouse (Syracuse, NY)
(5) Hewitt Associates LLC (Lincolnshire, IL)
(6) Vicki L. Wilke, Iowa State University (Ames)

You can draw your own conclusions about whether our government is responsive to its constituents.