Numbers are one way to measure where you’ve been and where you’re going. In the first decade of the 21st century, numbers show that the U.S. has grown in population but that its per household earnings, adjusted for inflation, have declined. The trade deficit has increased with China , but declined with Europe . The number of Republican public officials has dropped and so has the average approval rating of the presidents. Exxon Mobil has replaced Microsoft as the most valuable U.S. company. The number of college students has dropped, and cell phone use has skyrocketed.
Here are other statistics that trace the changes that took place in the last 10 years. Constant dollar calculations were made with the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ inflation calculator.
Here are just a sampling:
- Population
279,295,000 (1999); 308,150,087 (2009)
Hispanic percentage
11.7 (1999); 15.1 (2007)
Black percentage
13 (1999); 12.3 percent (2008)
- Female members of U.S. House of Representatives
60 (1999); 78 (2009)
Female members of the U.S. Senate
9 (1999); 17 (2009)
- Top CEO salary
$569.8 million (1999, Michael Eisner , Disney Corp. ); $556.9 million (2009, Lawrence Ellison , Oracle Corp. ; $428.9 million in constant 1999 dollars )
- Percentage of households with cell phones
36 (1998); 71 (2005)
- Number of satellites in orbit
623 (1999); 1,002 (2009)
- Minimum pay for a major in the Army
$31,349 (1999); $48,322 (2009)
- Minimum pay for a private first class in the Army
$13,417 (1999); $19,796 (2009)