● Estimated number of people arrested during the June 2010 G20 protests in Toronto: 1,000
● Number of people arrested during the entire 1935 On-to-Ottawa Trek: 120
● Percentage of Canadians who believe the $1 billion security costs of the G20 summit was “justified”: 11
● Total worldwide profits made by Exxon Mobile in 2009: $35 billion
● Total taxes paid by Exxon Mobile to the U.S. government the same year: $0
● Chance that a U.S. corporation paid no federal taxes from 1998 to 2005: 2 in 3
● Percentage of Canadians currently participating in the labour force: 67
● Latest year which the labour force participation rate was this low: 2002
● Estimated amount that consumers spent on “skin whitening cream” products in India last year: $500 million
● Total amount that Vale Inc. paid out in shareholder dividends on April 30th: $1.25 billion
● Total amount it paid its employees during the first three months of 2010: $424 million
● Percentage change in Vale executive compensation during the last two years: +121
● Number of U.S. soldiers killed in action in Afghanistan and Iraq last year: 148
● Number of U.S. soldiers stationed throughout the world who committed suicide last year: 245
● Number of people in the world who are officially unemployed: 212 million
● Number of workers whose jobs are classified by the International Labour Organization as “vulnerable”: 1.5 billion
● Percentage of Canadians who believe that since 1968, Brian Mulroney has been Canada’s worst prime minister: 24
● Percentage who believe the same about Stephen Harper: 18
● Of the 20 largest corporations in the United States in 1997, number that were either oil companies or banks: 6
● Of the 20 largest corporations in the world, number that are either oil companies or banks today: 17
● Average amount that a unionized worker earns more than a non-unionized worker in Canada each hour: $4.60
● Membership of the Polish Solidarity labour union in 1981: 9 million
● Membership today: 900,000
● Percentage of all known species on earth that are classified as either “endangered” or “vulnerable”: 36
● Amount of water an average U.S. cattle farmer uses each day to feed and maintain one animal, in litres: 719
● Factor by which this outpaces the water usage of an average family in India: 10
● Average minutes of lost work time per Canadian employee due to strikes in 2006: 23
● Percentage decline in lost work time due to strikes in Canada since 1976: 96
● Number of bills passed by the federal and provincial governments since 1982 that have restricted workers’ rights: 189
● Year in which the global Landmine Ban Treaty came into effect: 1999
● Number of people around the world who have been killed by landmines since then: 73,576
● Percentage of total global military expenditures spent by the United States: 47
● Percentage spent by Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Zimbabwe and Libya combined: 1.3
● Total world gross domestic product in 2009: $58 trillion
● Total amount of privately traded derivatives in the world today: $614 trillion
● Total cost of financial bailout and stimulus packages passed by the U.S. government in 2008 and 2009: $9.7 trillion
● Factor by which this outpaces total foreign aid sent by wealthy countries to the Global South since 1970: 4
● Estimated revenue lost by governments in the Global South due to tax havens and avoidance each year: $160 billion
● Estimated revenue needed to accomplish all of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals each year: $50 billion
● Estimated revenue that could be raised annually from a 0.05% tax on global financial transactions: $650 billion
● Number of people who belong to the “I Hate Labor Unions” group on Facebook: 170
● Number who belong to the “I Love Labor Unions” group: 820
Our Times Tally, inspired by Harpers Index, is compiled by freelance writer Sean Cain (www.seanc60.sg-host.com).
