Tag Archives: By the Numbers

From the Mixed-Up Files

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By the Numbers

180. Number of bills introduced in the U.S. to restrict voting rights since the beginning of 2011. 14 states have passed legislation to restrict voting. (Brennan Center for Justice; MSNBC)

329. Number of consecutive months, as of July, with global temperatures above the 20th century average. (NOAA; The Hill)

700. Number of water mains in the U.S, on average, which break every single day. A third of the country's water pipes are 40-80 years old. This undoubtedly figures in to the D- grade the American water infrastructure received from the American Society of Civil Engineers. Repairing the infrastructure will cost approximately $335 billion over 20 years. (MSNBC)

30,000. Number of education jobs lost since the official end of the recession in 2009. Student-teacher ratios increased by 4.6% from 2008-2010, from 15.3 in 2008 to 16:1 in 2010, bringing student-teacher ratios back to levels last seen in 2000, according to a White House study. These ratios include special education and special needs classroom ratios. These classroom ratios are on track to increase even further. (AP; Washington Post)

396,906. Number of undocumented immigrants deported in 2011, the largest number in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements history. (CNN)

7.5 Million. The fine, in U.S. dollars, The Artists Formerly Known as Xe-Formerly Known as Blackwater-Now Known as Academi LLC agreed to pay to settle federal charges for possessing automatic weapons in the U.S. without registration, lying to federal regulators about weapons provided by them to the king of Jordan, passing secret plans for armored personnel carriers to Sweden and Denmark without U.S. approval, and illegally shipping body armor overseas. And this is just the stuff they've admitted to. (AP; Indianapolis Star)

So You Say

“First rule of journalism: Whenever you see elephants flying, shut up and take notes.” Tom Friedman

Paul Ryan's “not the kind of guy you pick to win Florida. This is the kind of guy you pick to win Fox and Friends.” Rachel Maddow

“And if you add in addition [to taxes paid] the amount [of our wealth] that goes to charity, why the number gets well above 20%.” Mitt Romney. To which Amy Davidson of The New Yorker shrewdly wrote “…what is the name for the category he refers to as 'the number?'– the sum of taxes and charity? Those are, after all– and one hopes that Romney recognizes this– two different things.”

“The political conventions are among the few 'shared' national political events left.” Jim Lehrer

“I mean, the conventions don't really do any work anymore. They're just three-day long infomercial parties for the party and the candidate.” Rachel Maddow

Climate change “is the biggest market failure the world has ever seen.” Former World Bank economist Nicholas Stern

Children of undocumented immigrants “study in our schools, play in our neighborhoods, befriend our kids, pledge allegiance to our flag. It makes no sense to expel talented young people who are, for all intents and purposes, Americans.” Barack Obama

“The central conservative truth is that it is culture, not politics, that determines the success of a society. The central Liberal truth is that politics can change a culture and save it from itself.” Daniel Patrick Moynihan

“There are 250 million guns in this country. If a person wants to get his hands on a gun, they're going to be able to do it…But we also have this situation where we have a lot of 20 year olds who are living in this under-institutionalized world, lonely, not a lot of people dealing with them; at the same time, a tremendous hunger for fame and you see the rise of these spectacle killings. And I'd like to see a debate about that. There's not an obvious political solution but…there's a civil society solution where we all look out for people who are just drifting between the cracks.” David Brooks

Excerpt: Matthew Tully regarding Indiana candidate for U.S. Senate Richard Mourdock

“If I had to pinpoint the moment at which I went from thinking Richard Mourdock would be an ineffective senator to a downright disaster, it was probably when he answered a question this spring about his top goals for the Senate. [He] told several reporters and editors that day that if he were a member of the Senate next year but in the minority, his top goal would be to travel the nation campaigning for fellow conservative candidates. The answer was as petty as it was depressingly political and partisan. And it underscored Mourdock's deep misunderstanding of the responsibilities and power every senator has–even those in the minority.” Matthew Tully, “Coats has things to teach Mourdock,” Indianapolis Star, 08/08/2012.

 

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Trois Choses Pour Tuesday (erm, Mardi)

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More Stuff Other People Said

“No one has yet won an election in the United States by lecturing America about limits, even if common sense suggests such homilies may be overdue.” Simon Schama

Obama “says we need more firemen, more policemen, more teachers—did he not get the message of Wisconsin? The American people did! It’s time for us to cut back on government and help the American people!” Mitt Romney

“If Congress isn’t going to do anything to protect the U.S. economy and the Federal Reserve isn’t going to do any more to protect the U.S. economy then, yes, we are at the mercy of what happens in Europe and in China and in other parts of the world. But that is because we have chosen to be at their mercy. We are not helpless. We’re just acting like we are.” Ezra Klein

“Self-reliance and teamwork are not opposing virtues. We must have both.” Bill Clinton, 1996 Inaugural Address

“The truth is that, as technological societies become more advanced they have bigger government because they can afford it. And to the extent that government is public investment in public goods, including education of a skilled workforce, then it pays for itself through higher economic growth in time.” Michael Lind, who also points out that countries spending as much as 50% of GDP on government are frequently as  or more economically competitive than the U.S. while Third and Fourth World countries typically spend far less on government as a percent of GDP than does the United States.

“Truth is great and will prevail if left to herself…she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons, free argument and debate, errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them.” Thomas Jefferson

By the Numbers

1—Liter of water required to grow one calorie of food. (U.S. State Department)

4—Percent reduction in the number of violent crimes reported in 2011 from the number reported during 2010. The number of property crimes declined by 0.8% in the same period. (FBI; USAToday)

80—Percent of economics experts, including the director of the CBO, who agree that unemployment rates in the U.S. were lower at the end of 2010 than they would have been without the 2009 stimulus. (Washington Post; University of Chicago Booth School of Business)

13,000—Number of public sector jobs  lost in the U.S. during the month of May. Private sector jobs increased. (MSNBC)

6 Million—Amount spent annually by Virginia to protect the city of Norfolk alone from the rising sea levels of the Atlantic Ocean. (MSNBC)

76.8 Million – Dollars raised by the Republicans for Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign in May.  $60 million dollars were raised in that month by the Democrats for President Obama. (CBS News)

3.1 Billion—Dollar amount of solar cells the U.S. purchased from China in 2011. This equals more than half the American market for these devices. (U.S. Department of Commerce; Washington Post)

Miss Otis Regrets

“Dear Emerald Orange, I can’t help but notice that your normally lame blog has become increasingly inane. You seem to have nothing to say except to repeat the media droppings that others have left behind. What gives? Are you even trying? Love, Blog Reader”

Dear Blog Reader: Yes, yes, I am very trying (chortle), ask anyone. What gives? Lots of what I suppose could be termed “life,” which has made it difficult to post anything approximating original (although I did create a nifty table for the Indiana 9th District Race; like, from scratch and everything). And in fairness, I never claimed Emerald Orange would be anything but lame. So there. But I regret the blog has become nothing but “media droppings” of late. So, if anyone would like to relieve Emerald Orange from the quote-and-numbers doldrums, feel free to ask a question or heck, guest post. Just send an e-mail to emeraldorange@live.com, or throw a comment in, and presto-change-o, Better Blog. Much thanks. Love, Michelle. (Although, if your guest post is offensive or, heaven forfend, spam, you have no chance of appearing on my lame little blog. XOXO, BFF 4-Ever.)

The Unquashable Note-Taker Strikes Again

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Rock the Quote

“Europe’s like a man who’s suffering chronic arteriosclerosis and who has also been hit by a truck.” David Frum, speaking about Europe’s economy (the diseased man) and the Euro crisis (truck).

“…financial markets are inherently unstable. They will neither self-correct nor self-regulate. Their instability poses a threat to markets and economies and people across the globe. Therefore, they need to be regulated…and JP’s [Morgan Chase] loss should be taken as a warning that our tendency is to set them too low.” Jared Bernstein

“We’ve had it backward for the last thirty years. Rich businesspeople like me don’t create jobs. Rather, they are a consequence of an ecosystemic feedback loop animated by middle-class consumers.” Nick Hanauer

“Well, growth is still the best antidote for poverty. But one of the things we’ve learned…is growth alone isn’t enough so we try to talk about inclusive growth…[W]hat inclusive growth means to me is that you also need an efficient social safety net, so that when the vicissitudes of economies or world events strike, that people at the bottom aren’t crushed or you don’t lose a generation through…improper nutrition or education…At the same time, there’s still a lot of people just above the poverty line. So there’s a need to sort of create opportunity.” Robert Zoellick, outgoing president of the World Bank

“Conservatives believe in the ties that bind us, that society is stronger when we make vows to each other and we support each other. So I don’t support gay marriage in spite of being a conservative. I support gay marriage because I am a conservative.” British Prime Minister David Cameron

“Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber.” Plato

By the Numbers

2.4—Percent of total employment in the U.S. accounted for by green jobs in 2010. That’s roughly 3.1 million green jobs, 860,000 of which were in the public sector. (U.S. Department of Labor, Washington Post, Indianapolis Star)

15.4—Percent of U.S. GDP made up of tax revenues in 2011. Under President Reagan, tax revenues equaled 18.2% of GDP. To find a pre-financial crisis year where taxes equaled 15.4% of GDP, one would have to go all the way back to 1950 (pre-Medicaid/Medicare. Heck, that’s pre-Hawaii statehood). (Ezra Klein, Washington Post, MSNBC)

50-100—Percent of the increase in death rates for older male workers in the years immediately following a job loss. (Daniel Sullivan, Till von Wachter; Columbia University)

75—Percent of medicines consumed in the U.S. which are generic/off-label. The cost of the 25% of medicines which are not generic equal 90% of the $310 billion spent annually in the U.S. on prescription drugs. (Gardiner Harris, New York Times, NPR, The Diane Rehm Show)

263—Approximate number of organizations the U.S. government has either created or re-configured to tackle aspects of the war on terror since September 11, 2001. 33 new building complexes have been built for the intelligence bureaucracies alone (17 million square feet, which equals 22 U.S. Capitols or 3 Pentagons). (Fareed Zakaria GPS; CNN)

1864—The first year the motto “In God We Trust” appeared on an American coin. It did not appear on paper currency until 1957. (Diarmaid McCullough)

230,000—Number of employees working for the Department of Homeland Security. (Fareed Zakaria GPS; CNN)

By the Numbers, Sunday Edition

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13 Percent of world’s undiscovered oil that is found in the Arctic. As much as 30% of the world’s untapped natural gas resources can be found there. The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the globe, opening shipping lanes, competition for oil and gas resources, and potentials for conflict among nations. (U.S. Geological Survey; Associated Press)

33 Number of states in the U.S. with capital punishment. This number will become 32 when Governor Malloy signs the bill in Connecticut removing capital punishment from Connecticut law. (MSNBC)

33 Percent, roughly, of adult population in the state of Indiana that has a post-secondary degree. Indiana is 40th in the nation in number of post-secondary degree and certificate holders among adults. (WFYI)

40 Percent of Americans who believe life on Earth was created as-is. About 20% of Americans believe in theistic evolution. 25% believe in evolution by natural selection. Among American scientists, 87% believe in evolution by natural selection. (Pew Center for Religion and Public Life; NPR; Diane Rehm Show)

56 Number of American soldiers serving in Afghanistan who were investigated on suspicion of using or distributing heroin, morphine, or other opiates in 2010 and 2011. Eight soldiers during the same time period died from drug overdoses. There were 70,000 drug offenses by roughly 36,000 U.S. soldiers between 2006-2011, overall. (Army Criminal Investigation Command; Indianapolis Star)

77 Cents earned by an American woman for every dollar earned by an American man. In Indiana, that number is 72 cents per dollar. (National Women’s Law Center; WFYI)

7.1 Million Number of Americans currently under correctional supervision, including imprisonment, probation, and parole. That is 760 prisoners for every 100,000 citizens. Most Eurozone countries are 1/7th of that number, per capita. In 1980, the U.S.’s numbers were 1/4th of what they are now. (CNN; Fareed Zakaria GPS)

Stats, Overheard Youths, and a Bite of Wisdom

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By the Numbers

2 ½ Cents it costs the U.S. Government to manufacture one penny. It costs 11 cents to make a nickel. (CNN)

9.90 Dollars it costs to purchase a gallon of gas in Norway, on average. Norway is an oil-producing nation. (Fareed Zakaria GPS, CNN)

17.3 Percent of Americans who are poor. For comparison, that percentage is 11% in the UK. The United States ranks 31st out of 34 OECD countries in proportion of population that is impoverished. Only Mexico, Chile, and Israel have a greater percentage that is defined as poor. (OECD; Fareed Zakaria GPS, CNN)

48 Percent of Americans who self-report that they have had a mystical encounter with the Divine. In 1962, the number was 22%. (NPR, On Point with Tom Ashbrook; Diana Butler Bass)

54.3 Percent of Americans aged 18-24 who were employed at the end of 2011; the 55.7% who were unemployed is the highest percentage since tracking of this number began at the end of World War II. (Pew Research Center; CNN)

798 Cost in dollars of an angiogram in the United States. An angiogram in Canada costs $35; it will cost $245 in Germany and $371 in Chile. The average hospital stay costs $15,734 in the United States. In France it costs $3,396. (Ezra Klein, “High Health Care Costs: It’s All in the Pricing,” Washington Post)

A Couple Overheard Moments, A Couple Quotes

“I can honestly say I am the one exception to every man.” A confident young man overheard in the Indianapolis, Indiana environs of late.

“I like older women because they already have that instinct to baby people so I like older women who will just coddle me. It helps that I’m short and have a baby face.” A young lady, also in the Indianapolis Indiana environs, overheard explaining why her relationship with an “older woman” was working out so well.

“Men exist for the sake of one another. Teach them then or bear with them.” Marcus Aurelius

“When Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote that a foolish consistency was the hobgoblin of little minds, he might have added a corollary that strategic inconsistency is the hall pass of heavyweights.” Dan Carpenter

“Receive things thankfully in the aspects and taste that they are offered to thee, from day to day; the rest is beyond thy knowledge.” Montaigne, paraphrasing Ecclesiastes

Wisdom, not Malaise: The Speech President Obama Should Give

“First of all, we must face the truth, and then we can change our course. We simply must have faith in each other, faith in our ability to govern ourselves, and faith in the future of this nation. Restoring that faith, and that confidence is now the most important task we face…We are at a turning point in our history. There are two paths to choose. One is a path…that leads to fragmentation and self-interest. Down that road lies a mistaken idea of freedom, the right to grasp for ourselves some advantage over others. That path would be one of constant conflict between narrow interests ending in chaos and immobility. It is a certain route to failure…All the traditions of our past, all the lessons of our heritage, all the promises of our future point to another path, the path of our common purpose…I do not promise a quick way out of our nation’s problems, when the truth is that the only way out is an all-out effort…There is simply no way to avoid a sacrifice.” President Jimmy Carter, “Crisis of Confidence” speech, 1979

By the Numbers, Florida Tuesday Edition

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18 Number of states with a higher minimum wage than that of the federal government. The  District of Columbia also has a higher minimum wage. 4 states have a lower minimum wage and 5 states have no minimum wage requirement at all. (U.S. Department of Labor)

42 Percent of U.S. men raised in the bottom fifth of incomes who stay in the bottom fifth as adults. In Denmark, this percentage is 25; in the U.K. the number is 30. (On Point with Tom Ashbrook, WBUR Boston, NPR)

59 Countries holding elections in 2012. This represents one-third of all nations. 26 of these elections will change leadership at the national level (heads of state). One half of the world’s GDP is represented and affected by these elections. (CNN, Fareed Zakaria GPS 1 January 2012)

171 Detainees remaining at Guantanamo Bay. 36 of these are currently awaiting military tribunals or war crimes charges. (PBS NewsHour)

34,000 Amount in dollars earned per household annually to be counted among the world’s richest one percent. (CNN)

170,000 Jobs added in the American auto industry since June 2009. (Bureau of Labor statistics; White House Twitter account 10 January 2012 @whitehouse)

374,000 Amount in dollars earned by Mitt Romney in speaking fees in 2010. Or, as he refers to it “not very much.” (MSNBC; CNN; PBS: NPR)

Quotes and Numbers: New Year’s Eve 2011 Edition

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Chatterbox

“At the time when the president was sworn into office in January of 2009, economists of all  stripes believed the baseline analysis was that the economy had shrunk in the fourth quarter of 2008 by about 3%. We now know through revisions of those statistics and analysis that the economy shrank by almost 9%. I mean, that’s Depression levels of shrinkage.” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney

“Yet if you look at a payroll tax extension, you can take a 500,000 dollar Wall Streeter who’s going to gain 2200 dollars from the holiday being extended. A minimum wage employee working a full year will gain $280. Now what kind of sense does that make?” David Stockman

“No matter how cynical you become, it’s never enough to keep up.” Lily Tomlin

“Leadership, by definition, means being out in front of your people when it is called for. It means standing up for the dignity of all your citizens and persuading your people to do the same.” Hillary Clinton

“Long before the recession hit, hard work stopped paying off for too many people.” President Obama

“Millionaires on food stamps are about as rare as petunias in January.” New York Times

“I believe it’s the will of the people to move towards a balanced budget amendment [to the Constitution].” Jon Huntsman (Not this person’s will: see item 4 here or just look at the financial issues constitutionally-bound balanced budget states have been having the past half-decade.)

“’I’m not a hero,’ he said. ‘A hero is a sandwich. I’m a paratrooper.’” President Obama, quoting Lt. Alvin Shell, in a speech at Fort Bragg marking the end of the Iraq War.

By the Numbers

6 Number of members of the Walton family (Wal-Mart empire) who, together, have the same amount of wealth as roughly 1/3 of Americans (ca. 93 million). (Sylvia Allegretto, UC Berkeley)

10 ½  Average age, in years,  of cars on American roads, a record high. (PBS NewsHour)

70 Percent more food which will have to be grown by 2050 due to land degradation. About ¼ of all land on the planet is now considered highly degraded. (NPR; UN Food and Agriculture Organization)

441 Judges Indiana currently has serving on the bench. It needs 597 to adequately handle Indiana’s collective case load. (WFYI; Indiana 2010 Judicial Service Report)

200,000 Years the world has collectively spent playing Angry Birds, much of it in 2011. (CNN: Fareed Zakaria GPS)

280,000 The median net worth, yearly, in dollars, of a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1984. As of 2009, that number was $725,000. In 1984, the average American family had an annual net worth of $20,600. In 2009, that worth was $20,500. (PBS NewsHour; New York Times; Washington Post)

Two Trillion Dollar amount of repairs U.S. needs to its infrastructure. (American Society of Civil Engineers; CNN: Fareed Zakaria GPS)

Quotes and Numbers, Numbers and Quotes

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“But how worthless are all these poor people who are engaged in matters political…” Marcus Aurelius

“The American people may have voted for a divided government. But they didn’t vote for a dysfunctional government.” President Obama

“We would rather back someone with whom we may sometimes disagree than one who tells us what he thinks we want to hear.” New Hampshire Union Leader, front page editorial endorsing Newt Gingrich over Mitt Romney

“I think there’s an 85% chance [Herman Cain's] going to be on Dancing with the Stars next season.” Steve Schmidt

“Rather than workable solutions, my party is offering low taxes for the currently rich, high spending for the currently old, to be followed by who knows what and who the hell cares. This isn’t conservatism; it’s a going-out-of-business sale for the baby boom generation.” David Frum

“Washington is a very cozy place to be if you’re a has-been.” Karen Tumulty

“You can always count on Americans to do the right thing– after they’ve tried everything else.” Winston Churchill

“There is nothing worse than aggressive stupidity.” Goethe

By the Numbers

33 Seats in the U.S. Senate open in the 2012 election.

40 Percent of all water used in France last year which was used to cool nuclear reactors and waste. (Jeremy Rifkin; NPR)

107 Avoidable injuries to hospital patients due to medical errors in Indiana in 2010. 33 of these were due to foreign objects being left behind in patients after surgery. 14 of these were surgeries on the wrong body part. (Indiana Department of Health; WFYI)

249 Number of terrorist attacks in the EU in 2010. Only three of these were attributable to Islamic extremists. (Fareed Zakaria GPS, CNN, 20 November 2011)

3,000 Lobbyists in Washington D.C. fighting Dodd-Frank reforms. 1.3 billion dollars were spent in 2009 and early 2010 alone to fight financial reform and tighter regulations. (Newsweek)

12 Billion Dollars which would be added to the U.S. Treasury by 2014 if the capital gains tax rate was raised to 20% for those earning $250k or more. (Gary Rivlin, Newsweek)

Random Blather: Tuesday Edition

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The Chattering Class

“We will make it so that a Democrat cannot govern as a Democrat.” Grover Norquist

“It’s a very good day to not be in office.” David Brooks

“The Gang of Six plan is really Bowles-Simpson for slow learners.” Clive Crook

“Go up to the U.S. Capitol. Listen to our Congress. The greatest council of debate in America should be the U.S. Senate…In fact, it looks to me like right now the U.S. Senate is where debate goes to die in America.” Juan Williams

“I don’t mean to be callous but there are people all over the world who would love a job flipping hamburgers in America.” Mitt Romney, 1994

“Poverty is an honorable condition that you can come across very easily and honestly in this country.” Barbara Ehrenreich

“If you’re a regular guy and you’re fighting to get rid of the estate tax, you might be a redneck.” Bill Maher, on the tendency of working class people to vote against their own economic interests. The estate tax affects the top .001 percentile of the American population.

“The best minds of my generation are thinking about how to make people click ads. That sucks.” Jeff Hammerbacher

By the Numbers

6 Percent of total global population that has ever lived that is currently living. 10 billion born between 1900-2010; 90 billion born and died before 1900. (Carl Haub)
45 Percent unemployment rate in the Gaza Strip. (Cornel West, PRI)
52 Cents per dollar earned by the average American which goes towards housing and transportation if gasoline is under $4 per gallon. (Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan)
70 Dollars spent monthly by the average American for cable television and broadband Internet. The average American’s monthly wireless bill is $93. (Centris. 2009 figures.)
247 People on the terrorist watch list who bought guns in the U.S. in 2010. (FBI, The Atlantic, AP)
7500 Dollars, the average cost annually for nursing home care in the U.S. (NPR)

The Coolest Thought Which Crossed My Path of Late (also known as: why I have a brain crush on Neil deGrasse Tyson)

Neil deGrasse Tyson, speaking about the moon missions, pointed out that we all believed we were explorers going out into the universe to look at the moon but instead, we saw the earth.

That’s outstanding.

Tuesday Morning: Eye of Newt Edition

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Yakkity Yak

“So let me say on the record, any ad which quotes what I said on Sunday is a falsehood.” Newt Gingrich, trying to untangle his messy performance (“right-wing social engineering”) on Meet the Press, Sunday, 15 May 2011.

“I wouldn’t trust him to run a 7-Eleven…the bombast meter always has to be ratcheted down six levels.” David Brooks, about Newt Gingrich.

“…because [observing] the maneuvers of Newt’s campaign is kind of like observing the maneuvers of the Belgian Navy. It’s interesting, but it may not be that important. I don’t think he was ever going to be a candidate who was going to be elected.” Mike Murphy

“The federal government owns seventy percent of Utah, for example. There are federal buildings. If you need cash, let’s start liquidating.” Congressman Dennis Ross (R-FL) with the novel suggestion that solving the U.S. debt problem begins with selling off spare states.

“I will take my hands off Medicare when there is no Medicare. And then I will come and see you, sir.” Congressman Allen West (R-FL) to a constituent at a town hall meeting in Florida, 17 May 2011.

“Health insurance is not health care… Health insurance is a financial product. And it’s a defective financial product. Now we are compelled to purchase a defective product. That’s not what I had in mind.” Health care reform spokeswoman Donna Smith.

“I mean, we’ve built a system in which it’s more important to have a car that runs than to have a GED diploma in getting and keeping a job.” Lisa Margonelli

By the Numbers

4.5 Number of planets needed if the total global population consumed resources at the same levels as the U.S. (NPR, Sierra Club)

5.5 Percentage of expected increase in the price of dairy products this year. Meat prices are expected to rise 6-7 percent and clothing is expected to increase by 10-15 percent. (Indianapolis Star, U.S. Department of Agriculture)

9.22 Average rainfall in inches across Indiana in April, the rainiest on record since 1895. (Indianapolis Star)

9.4 Percent of income spent on gas by the bottom fifth of earners. The top fifth of earners spend 1.9% of their income on gas. (Indianapolis Star, Citi Investment Research Report)

4,254 Miles of water pipes in Indianapolis. Some of them are 130 years old. (Indianapolis Star)

330 Billion Dollars of outstanding tax revenue at the end of fiscal year 2010. (Government Accountability Office, MSNBC, Huffington Post)