Posted on: Sunday, March 8, 2009
Pension law saves employers billions
By John MacIntyre
RETIREMENT MONEY
Estimated amount of money that U.S. employers will be required to contribute into their defined benefit plans this year, according to Watson Wyatt Worldwide: $108.7 billion
Estimated amount of money that employers would have had to contribute without the passage of a new pension-funding relief law late last year: $125.1 billion
BUSINESS TRAVEL
Percentage of all travel in the U.S. accounted for by corporate meetings, events and incentive travel programs, according to the U.S. Travel Association: 15
Amount of spending generated: $244 billion
Amount of tax revenue at the federal, state and local level generated: $39 billion
CLAIMING SOME IRISH
Number of U.S. residents who claim Irish ancestry, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 36.5 million
Estimated population of Ireland itself: 4 million
Percentage of the nation as a whole who are of Irish ancestry: 12
RANDY JACKSON FANS
Rank of Randy Jackson on scales of likability, believability, sincerity and fairness among "American Idol" judges, according to a study conducted by HCD Research: 1
LOVE FOR CANADA
Rank of Canada (with rating of 90 percent favorable) among a list of 19 nations, according to a Gallup survey of Americans: 1
Ranks of Great Britain (89 percent), Japan (81 percent), Germany (79 percent), and India and France (64 percent): 2, 3, 4, 5 (tie)
Number of years that Canada has topped the list since 2006: 4
KEEPING MIND SHARP
Percentage less likely that people were to develop memory loss if they participated in social activities and read magazines during middle age than those who did not do those activities, according to a study to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's annual meeting in Seattle: 40
Percentage decrease in the risk of developing memory loss in later years by those who enjoyed reading books, playing games, participating in computer activities and doing craft activities such as pottery or quilting: 30 to 50
SAYING 'I DO'
Percentage of young adults ages 18 to 30 who plan to get married and stay married for life, according to a survey by National Healthy Marriage Resource Center: 82
Estimated percentage of first marriages that end in divorce: 40
Ranks of "love" (87 percent) and "lifelong commitment" (72 percent) on the list of reasons to get married: 1, 2
Percentage who said "having children": 31
PARENTAL CONCERNS
Percentage of new parents who rank money worries as their greatest challenge, ahead of sleep deprivation and the rigors of caring for their baby, according to survey results released by Visa: 21
Estimated cost for a middle-class family to raise a child until age 17, according to computations by the U.S. Department of Agriculture: $195,000
IDLE THOUGHT
"What is philosophy but a continual battle against custom?"
— Thomas Carlyle, historian and essayist
Contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.
