Numbers

85% Percentage of middle-aged white-collar workers who say that after losing their job, they had to switch industries to land a new one

52% Percentage who had to take a lower salary

$6.5-$10 billion Estimated amount the U.S. Treasury loses each year to workers who wrongly claim the earned-income tax credit. Treasury wants to toughen eligibility requirements

$46 billion Estimated amount lost in 2002 to businesses that evaded or avoided taxes

60% Increase in motorcycle-accident death rates since 1997

20 Number of states that require all riders to wear helmets, down from 47 in 1975

$22.5 billion Estimated spending on pork-barrel projects for fiscal 2003, a record high

$200,000 Amount of tax dollars allotted for the National Peanut Festival Fairgrounds in Alabama

Sources: DBM (2), New York Times (4), Citizens Against Government Waste (2)