Courtesy of our friends (via an email I received) at the Campaign for America‘s future here are few facts and figures to put the President’s speech in context:
ON INCOMES:
–Median household income in 2000: $47,599
–Median household income in 2005: $46,326
(US Census Bureau, Table H-8. Median Household Income by State: 1984 to 2005)
–Salary of a full-time minimum wage employee without vacation: $10,712
–Average time for top CEOs to earn that sum: 2.06 hours
(Forbes Magazine. “What the Boss Makes.” April 20, 2006)
–Federal minimum wage in 2000: $5.15/hr
–Federal minimum wage in 2006: $5.15/hr
–Loss in purchasing power, full time worker annually: $1,562
ON ENERGY PRICES:
–Average price of home heating oil on Jan. 3, 2000: $1.15 per gallon
–Average price of home heating oil on Jan. 1, 2007: $2.42 per gallon
(U.S. Energy Information Admin. Jan. 4, 2007)
–Average price of gasoline on Jan. 3, 2000: $1.31 per gallon
–Average price of gasoline on Jan. 1, 2007: $2.38 per gallon
(U.S. Energy Information Admin. Jan. 5, 2007)
–Exxon Mobil profits in 2000: $7.9 billion
–Exxon Mobil profits in 2006: $36.1 billion
(CNNMoney.com, accessed Jan. 19, 2007)
ON CLIMATE CHANGE:
–Year Bush said Kyoto Protocol emission targets were “not based upon science”: 2000
–Decrease in NASA budget for Earth observation since 2000: 30 percent
–Year with highest average U.S. temperature ever recorded: 2006
(The White House, June 11, 2001; New York Times, Jan. 21, 2006; National Climate Data Center. U.S. Dept. of Commerce. Jan. 9, 2007)
ON EDUCATION:
–Average cost of a year at a public four-year college in 2000: $9,958
–Average cost of a year at a public four-year college in 2006: $12,796
(Costs include tuition, fees, room & board. MSN Money 2000/Associated Press. Jan. 14, 2005. College Board. Trends in College Pricing 2007)
ON RETIREMENT SECURITY:
–Workers without retirement plans at work in the private sector 2006: 80 percent
–Baby boom Americans approaching retirement: 76 million
(Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2006; The Seattle Times. Jan. 22, 2005)
ON HEALTH CARE COSTS:
–Americans without health insurance, 2000: 38.2 million
–Americans without health insurance, 2005: 46.6 million
(US Census Bureau, Sept. 2001; US Census Bureau, Aug. 2006)
–Average monthly worker contribution for family coverage in 2000: $135
–Average monthly worker contribution for family coverage in 2006: $248
–Personal bankruptcies due to medical bills: 55 percent
(The Kaiser Family Foundation, Sept. 26, 2006; Health Affairs Health Policy Journal, Feb. 2, 2005)
ON THE IRAQ WAR:
–Number of US troops killed in Iraq prior to “Mission Accomplished” speech in 2003: 139
–Number of US troops killed in Iraq as of Jan. 22, 2007: 3,056
–Number of Iraqi civilians killed in 2006, according to the United Nations: 34,452
(iCasualties.org, Jan. 22, 2007; U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq, Jan. 16, 2006)
–Number of US troops wounded in Iraq prior to “Mission Accomplished” speech in 2003: 542
–Number of US troops wounded in Iraq as of January 10, 2007: 22,834
(iCasualties.org. Jan. 10, 2007)
–Total US military expenditures (including in Iraq and Afghanistan) in 2006: $522 billion
–Total military expenditures of the 10 next top spenders combined: $386 billion
(Includes China, Russia, the UK, Japan, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Italy, and Australia. Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. Feb. 16, 2006.)
–U.S. Federal Discretionary Budget spent on Military not including Iraq, in 2006: 48.7 percent
–Amount spent on Education: 6.7 percent
(White House Office of Management and Budget, Feb. 6, 2006) ON DEBTS AND DEFICITS:
–Monthly U.S. Trade Deficit in October 2000: $33.8 billion
–Monthly U.S. Trade Deficit in October 2006: $58.9 billion
(U.S. Census Bureau Foreign Trade Statistics. Jan. 10, 2007)
–U.S. Current Account Deficit, FY 2000: $435.4 billion
–U.S. Current Account Deficit, FY 2006: $900 billion
(Economic Policy Institute. March 14, 2001; Economic Policy Institute. March 14, 2006)
–Loss of value of U.S. dollar relative to the Euro, Jan. 24, 2000 to Jan. 23, 2006: 23 percent
(X-rate.com, accessed Jan. 23, 2006)
–US Budget Deficit in FY 2000: $230 billion surplus
–US Budget Deficit in FY 2006: $423 billion deficit
(White House Office of Management and Budget. Budget of the United States Government, Historical Tables, Fiscal Year 2007; White House Office of Management and Budget. Table S-1. 2006 budget totals)
–US National Debt in FY 2000: $5.7 trillion
–US National Debt in FY 2006: $8.5 trillion
(Bureau of the Public Debt, Jan. 16, 2007)