By the Numbers

“This is probably the most productive session of Congress since at least the ‘60s. It’s all the more impressive given how polarized the Congress has been.” – Alan Brinkley, a historian at New York’s Columbia University, quoted by Bloomberg.com

38.9 percent

Gain in the S&P 500 index since January 2009, the biggest two-year increase since 1997-98

3.3 million

Jobs created or saved by the Feb. 2009 stimulus bill, according to the Congressional Budget Office

11

Percent, the share of pharmaceutical trial patients from Asia and India in 2009, up from 5 percent in 2001

32

Percent, the share of pharmaceutical trial patients from North America in 2009, down from 53 percent in 2001

20

Times more it costs to use volunteers in the U.S. for a typical pharmaceutical trial than it does in Thailand

50

Percent of PC sales made up by desktop systems two years ago

33

Percent of PC sales made up by desktops systems today. That number is expected to drop to 20 percent in three years.

7.3

Percent cut in spending by states in the 2010 fiscal year, following a 3.8 percent cut in 2009

$3 trillion

Amount in outstanding bonds states have, in addition to $3.5 trillion in pension shortfalls

10

Percent, the drop in combined sales, personal, and corporate tax revenue in the past two years

Sources: Bloomberg.com; GlobalPost; The Christian Science Monitor; New York Times