Calculated annual cost to taxpayers of tax and accounting loopholes that encourage excessive executive pay, according to the 15th annual Executive Excess report from the Institute for Policy Studies and United for a Fair Economy: $20 billion

Amount accounted for by stock-option accounting double standard: $10 billion

Amount accounted for by unlimited deductibility of executive compensation: $5.2 billion

Amount of the $20 billion accounted for by preferential capital-gains treatment of carried interest: $2.6 billion

Source: United for a Fair Economy.

Percentage of parents who say that parent involvement was a key factor in student achievement, according to the results of an independent, nationwide survey by Pearson: 96

Percentage of parents who felt achievement would improve with better communication between school and home: 95

Source: Pearson Education/Pearson Scott Foresman.

Average percentage pay increase planned by U.S. employers in 2009, according to the "2008/2009 U.S. Compensation Planning Survey" from Mercer: 3.7

Expected percentage base-pay increases in 2009 for the highest-performing employees (14 percent of the workforce): 5.6

Expected percentage base pay increases in 2009 for the weakest performers (7 percent of the workforce): 0.6

Source: Mercer.

Estimated annual value of books in the religious products market, according to a study by Packaged Facts: $6 billion

Percentage increase in the overall religious products market between 2004 and 2008: 21

Amount this percentage increase represents: $1 billion

Source: Packaged Facts.

Percentage of Americans who say economic growth and development is more important to their region than protecting the environment, according to a survey by Harris Interactive: 63

Source: Harris Interactive.

Rank of overpacking on the list of the biggest mistakes travelers make, according to a poll of U.S. Tour Operators Association member companies: 1

Source: Kundell Communications.

Percentage of Americans who use at least one electronic device in the bathroom, according to American Standard's 2008 Bathroom Habits Survey: 88

Percentage who read their mail in the bathroom -- both snail mail and e-mail: 33

Percentage who talk on the phone: 15

Percentage who watch TV: 3

Source: American Standard.

Ranks of Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University on the list of America's Best National Universities, according to the U.S. News Media Group's 2009 edition of America's Best Colleges: 1, 2, 3, 4 (tie)

Ranks of Amherst College, Williams College and Swarthmore College on the list of the nation's Best Liberal Arts Colleges: 1 (tie), 3

Source: U.S. News Media.

Percentage of parents who say that they are working additional hours at their current job so they can pick up the tabs (and mortgages, car payments, grocery bills, etc.) that have increased, according to a Sittercity.com survey: 42

Percentage of stay-at-home parents who are now going back to work: 27

Percentage of working parents who have taken on a second job: 8

Source: Sittercity.com.

Percentage of high-net-worth business owners -- whose companies have at least $10 million in annual revenue -- who participate with their family in charitable activities, according to a SunTrust Bank Private Wealth Management study: 72

Percentage of business owners who cited a spouse or partner as their greatest influence in making charitable decisions: 81

Source: SunTrust Banks Inc.

Idle Thought

"The perfection of a clock is not to go fast, but to be accurate." -- Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues

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

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

Percentage of workers who say they stay in contact with work while on vacation, according to a survey conducted by CareerBuilder: 25

Percentage of employees who say they have lied to their employers and claimed that they couldn't be reached on vacation: 7

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

When Washington, D.C., bartenders were asked who was the better tipper, percentage who said Democrats, according to a survey issued by Beam Global Spirits and Wine Inc.: 60

Percentage who said Republicans: 38

Percentage who said Democrats have the better pick-up lines: 74

Percentage who said Republicans: 14

Source: Clarus.

In the past nine months, number of fewer miles that Americans drove than they did during the same period a year ago, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Transportation: 53.2 billion

Source: Orlando Business Journal.

Percentage of Americans who know someone at their current or past workplace who has been passed over for a job because they didn't have the right degree, according to a study by eLearners.com: 19

Percentage of respondents who say they themselves have been denied a job at some point for not having a degree: 10

Source: eLearners.com.

Percentage of U.S. households that have a video-capable mobile phone, according to market research firm Parks Associates: 33

Percentage of households with the technology that have never used it: 56

Source: Parks Associates.

Percentage of Americans who say they alone are responsible for their health and agree that lifestyle choices directly impact their healthcare costs, according to a survey conducted by The Vitality Group: 82

Percentage that nevertheless say they should not bear any part of the responsibility of paying for their health care: 44

Source: The Vitality Group.

Percentage of teens who expressed an interest in learning more about managing money, according to Capital One Financial Corp.: 50

Percentage of teens who have taken a personal finance class in school: 14

Percentage who say that what they know about managing money, they learned from their parents: 69

Percentage who did not have this discussion last year: 36

Source: Capital One Financial Corp.

Percentage of U.S. employees who are considering changing jobs to improve their commute times, according to a survey conducted by Business Week Research Services for TransitCenter Inc.: 26

Percentage of U.S. employees who say their commute to work is getting worse: 48

Percentage of employees who say they expect their companies to take the lead in easing their commuting difficulties: 65

Source: TransitCenter.

Percentage of American workers who are currently worried about something when it comes to their job, according to the Adecco USA Workplace Insights survey: 81

Ranks of high gas prices, a stagnant paycheck and work-life balance on the list of their main concerns: 1, 2, 3

Source: MWW Group.

Percentage of undergraduates, graduates and recent alumni who will not use their network to work their way into a job by proactively connecting to an employee in their target company, according to a 2008 CareerXroads and the job site AfterCollege.com: 66

Percentage who responded that they are extensively researching companies and positions in which they are interested: 78

Percentage who are actively seeking advice and help from parents or career services: 22

Source: CareerXroads.

Idle Thought

"What's money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do." -- Bob Dylan

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

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

Percentage of U.S. workers who regularly attend after-work drinks with co-workers who say they bad-mouthed a colleague, according to a survey for CareerBuilder.com: 16

Percentage who kissed a colleague: 8

Percentage who confessed to singing karaoke: 4

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of American teens who agree that the Olympics help to build a better and more peaceful world, according to a study conducted by Harris Interactive: 62

Percentage of teens interested in the Olympics who agree that the Games are about more than merely medals and marketing: 71

Source: Harris Interactive.

At the end of four years, the expense of keeping a 2003 6-cylinder, 4-door sedan that gets 21 miles per gallon (mpg) -- includes costs of fuel, license, registration, taxes, insurance, maintenance and tires, according to Runzheimer International: $16,548

With a resale value of $3,759, the total four-year cost: $12,789

At the end of four years, the expense of buying a new 6-cylinder, 4-door sedan with 23.5 mpg that costs $23,451 with a down payment of $10,158 -- the trade-in value of the older car -- and includes the car payment, interest on the car loan, fuel, license, registration, taxes, insurance, maintenance and tires: $32,258

With a resale value of $8,575, the total four-year expense: $23,683

Over the four-year period, the difference in the savings between keeping a car and buying a new one: $10,894

Source: Car Care Council.

Estimated number of Americans who move to a new location every year, according to research conducted by the Cable and Telecommunications Association for Marketing: 40 million

Percentage of adults who admit to feeling some level of anxiety about moving: 70

Percentage who say they "dread it completely": 35

Source: CTAM.

Percentage of Americans ages 18 to 39 who say they have credit card debt, according to Employee Benefit Research Institute: 63

Percentage who have a car debt: 48

Percentage who have a student loan debt: 31

Percentage who have medical debt: 27

Source: EBRI.

Estimated number of U.S. workers who telecommute at least once a week, according to a CCH nationwide survey: 22 million

Percentage of U.S. companies that offer telecommuting programs: 53

Percentage of employers who offer a compressed work week option: 45

Source: Wolters Kluwer Law and Business CCH.

Ranks of online training (60 percent), video conferencing (52 percent) and collaborative-workspace software (43 percent) as the most popular responses made by chief information officers when asked which tools their firms currently use or anticipate using, according to Robert Half Technology: 1, 2, 3

Source: Robert Half Technology.

Percentage of car shoppers who say they have made changes to further the betterment of the environment, according Kelley Blue Book Marketing Research study: 75

Ranks of recycling (54 percent), cutting back on driving (46 percent) and purchasing a fuel-efficient car (31 percent) as the top lifestyle changes mentioned: 1, 2, 3

Source: Kelley Blue Book.

Estimated number of homes in the U.S. that were sold to foreign nationals from May 2007 to May 2008, according to the 2008 National Association of Realtors: 150,000 to 190,000

Cost of a single-family vacation home purchased by the typical international buyer: $297,400

Length of time that the typical international owner stayed at his or her U.S. property during the year: 2.6 months

Source: National Association of Realtors.

Idle Thought

"Real success is finding your lifework in the work that you love." -- David McCullough

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

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