Monday, Nov. 25, 2002
Numbers
By Melissa August, Harriet Barovick, Elizabeth L. Bland, Heather Won Tesoriero and Rebecca Winters
24 Number of states, so far, that expect a budget deficit for the current fiscal year
$15 billion California's projected budget deficit for the next fiscal year, up from $6 billion this year
$887 Average amount Americans say they plan to spend on gifts this holiday season
32% Percentage of adults who say they have given as a gift an item they had received from someone else
64% Percentage of Mass-attending Roman Catholics who say the bishops have done a bad job of handling the church's sexual misconduct crisis
19% Percentage of those Catholics who say they have stopped donating money to their diocese--though not necessarily to their parish
$650 New daily pay for Elvis impersonators in Las Vegas
$350 Old rate for Elvis impersonators--the same as showgirls--before their recently negotiated raise
Sources: Reuters, San Jose Mercury News, Taubman Centers, American Express, Gallup, Variety