Those who do not read Harper's Index are doomed to repeat history

No one could have predicted the mess we're in.

(Recycled from a p3 post in November 2006:)

From the October 2006 Harper's Index:

1/4

Portion of U.S. banking assets in 1996 that were controlled by the ten largest U.S. banks [Source: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (Washington)]


1/2

Portion today [Source: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (Washington)]


$521,000

Average salary package last year among all full-time employees of Goldman Sachs, including support staff [Source: Goldman, Sachs & Co. (N.Y.C.)]


2 in 5

Chances of a recession in 2007, according to a chief economist of Merrill Lynch [Source: David Rosenberg, Merrill Lynch (N.Y.C.)]


5

Number of the last six years that fine-art prices have outperformed the S&P 500 [Source: Mei Moses All Art Index (N.Y.C.)]


+564

Percentage change since 1999 in the number of consumer complaints about harassment by U.S. debt-collection agencies [Source: Federal Trade Commission (Washington)]


350,000

Number of Americans whose past-due accounts the IRS will turn over to private debt collectors by 2008 [Source: Internal Revenue Service (Washington)]


2/5

Portion of the IRS's staff of estate-tax auditors that the government plans to eliminate this year [Source: National Treasury Employees Union (Washington)]


$106,641

Salary of the White House's new Director for Lessons Learned [Source: The White House (Washington)]