Hermes Index

(With apologies to Harpers Magazine)


1. Number of websites Lycos reports when asked to search for Jello Biafra: 7000

2. Number of votes Jello Biafra received inhis 1979 San Francisco mayoral campaign: 6591

3. Percent of total these votes were: 3.5 year charged with "Distribution of Harmful Matter to Minors": 1986

4. Number of years this charge was prior to the publized 2 Live Crew censorship case: 3

5. Percentage of 24 federal departments and agencies rated F by a House management subcommittee for handling of financial information, compliance with accounting laws and regulations, and having effective internal controls: 50. Among the failures: the Pentagon, Justice, EPA, State, and Interior.

6. Percent rated D: 25.

7. Number rated A: 2 (NASA and the National Science Foundation).

8. GSA, Labor and Social Security all rated B and the Department of Energy was rated C.

9. Percent decrease of unintentional firearm fatalities in US children younger than 15 between the mid-1980s and the mid-90s: nearly 44

10. Percent in states that did not enact CAP laws during that period: 42.6%

11. Percent in states that enacted CAP laws during that period: 45.1%

12. Number of children’s lives saved each year if the difference could be entirely attributed to trigger locks: 1.75

13. Ratio of executive pay to that of a factory worker in 1980: 42 to 1

14. Ratio of executive pay to that of a factory worker in 1998: 419 to 1

15. Annual pay of a factory worker if it had kept pace with executive salaries: $110,000

16. Percent of all stock owned by the least wealthy 90% of America: 18

17. Percent of all stock owned by the most wealthy 1% of America: 41

18. Number of world mergers and acquisitions 1990: 11,300

19. Number of world mergers and acquisitions 1998: 26,200

20. Percent of black men who have lost their right to vote because of felony convictions: 13

21. Number of states in which more than 20% of black men have lost their right to vote because of felony convictions: 10

22. Percent of black men in Alabama who have lost their right to vote because of felony convictions: 31%

23. Number of states that bar ex-felons from ever voting again: 14

24. Number of states that allow [prison inmates to vote: 4 (ME,MA,NH,VT)

25. Increase in US incarceration rate since the 1970s: 300%

26. Nations whose combined prison population could fit inside California penal institutions with space left over: France, Great Britain, Germany, Japan, Singapore, the Netherlands.


1-4 from www.alternativetentacles.com 5-8 from www.prorev.com 9-12 from Detroit Free Press 13-15 from Institute for Policy Studies and United for a Fair Economy 16-17 from Economic Policy Institute 18-19 from http://www.timesizing.com 20-24 from Washington Post 25-26 from Eric Schlosser in the Atlantic Month