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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, June 15, 2008

Being wealthy is important to 57% of us

Compiled by John MacIntyre

  • Percentage of Americans who say that it is "very important" or "somewhat important" for them to be wealthy, according to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center's Social and Demographic Trends project: 57

  • Percentage who say it is not important at all: 10

    YOUNG LUXURY HOUNDS

  • Estimated number of young urban consumers — ages 12 to 34 — there are in the United States, according to a report from Packaged Facts: 37 million

  • Aggregate income of these 37 million young urbanites in 2007: $594 billion

  • Projected income in 2012, much of which will be spent on luxury items: $684 billion

    RESPONSIBILITY GOALS

  • Percentage of corporate responsibility or CR practitioners who rate their organizations favorably on their achievement of CR goals, according to a study by Sirota Survey Intelligence: 82

  • Percentage of providers of CR-related services (those who supply organizations and practitioners with strategic advice and counseling, management consulting, communications solutions, research and development, training/education, advertising and public relations, and other services) who say those organizations' CR efforts have attained their objectives: 53

    THE HOT SEARCHES

  • Ranks of Disneyland, Universal Studios, Six Flags Great Adventure, Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Sea World as the top family-friendly vacation spots searched for on the Internet, according to www.Ask.com: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  • Ranks of the Florida Everglades, the White House, the Statue of Liberty, Yellowstone National Park and Mount Rushmore as the most popular U.S. landmarks searched for on the Internet: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

    LET'S TAKE THE BUS

  • Estimated number of trips avoided in the past 12 months because of air travelers' frustration, according to a survey by the Travel Industry Association and conducted by bipartisan polling firms Peter D. Hart Research Associates and The Winston Group: 41 million

  • Estimated cost to the U.S. economy in lost revenue: $26 billion

  • Estimated cost to the airlines: $9 billion

  • Estimated cost to hotels: $6 billion

  • Estimated cost to restaurants: $3 billion

    EYE ON THEIR FUTURE

  • Percentage of college students who reported that they are confident or very confident about their ability to manage their own money, according to a survey by Higher One: 67

  • Percentage of students who are saving at least 5 percent of their income: 50

  • Percentage of them who are investing in some way: 22

    DELUSIONAL DRIVERS

  • Percentage of drivers who are admittedly guilty of driving while distracted, according to a Nationwide Insurance survey: 72

  • Percentage of Americans — despite those habits — who think they are safe drivers: 98

    THE AGE GAP

  • Although baby boomers (born 1946-1964) and "matures" (born 1900-1945) have much to offer Generation Y (born 1980-1988) in knowledge and experience, percentage of boomers who report little to no interaction with their Generation Y colleagues: 51

  • Percentage of matures who report little to no interaction with them: 66

    THE PARENT TRACK

  • Number of countries that have statutes allowing parents to move to part-time work or otherwise adjust their working hours, according to a survey of 21 high-income countries (including the United States), conducted by the Institute for Women's Policy Research and the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California Hastings College of the Law: 17

  • Rank of the U.S. out of the 21 nations in terms of a collegeeducated woman's (ages 19 to 54) likelihood of participating in the labor market: 21

    BUT YOU KNEW THAT

  • Percentage of workers 30 and older who say their high school experience had an influence on the job they hold today, according to a survey conducted by www.CareerBuilder.com: 39

  • Rank of former cheerleaders among the students most likely to hold a vice president position: 1

  • Percentage of teacher's pets who now work in administrative/clerical positions, the highest job category percentage of any type of student: 41

    IDLE THOUGHT

    "Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going."

    Jim Ryun

    Reach John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.