The McCutcheon Index, or Fuzzy Math Made Real
(with apologies to the Harper’s Index)

Economics/Social Services

• Projected surplus over the next decade as of January 1, 2001: $5.4 trillion
• Projected deficit over the next decade as of March 1, 2003: $1.6 trillion
• Proposed tax cut: $1.35 trillion
• Total number of Americans without health care on January 1, 2001: 40 million
• Total number of Americans without health care on January 1, 2003: 65 million
• Number of major industrialized nations without national health care: 1

Bush

• Margin of victory in 2000 presidential election: 1 (Supreme Court justice)
• Number of times the US has suggested an emerging democracy establish an Electoral College: 0
• Age of President Bush when he first visited Europe: 54
• Number of times President Bush had traveled outside North America prior to becoming President: 0
• Number of languages President Bush speaks fluently: 0 (OK, trick question)
• Number of times George W. Bush has been arrested: 3
• Number of people you know who’ve been arrested 3 times: ?

War

• Number of Iraqi nationals who were among the September 11th hijackers: 0
• Number of proven links between Al Qaeda and Iraq: 0
• Number of Islamic fundamentalists in positions of power in Iraq: 0
• Number of Christian fundamentalists in current Cabinet: 2
• Official US Government estimates of Iraqi combat and civilian deaths in 1991 Gulf War: 200,000
• International Human Rights organizations estimates on civilian deaths in Iraq since 1991 attributed to malnutrition and lack of medicine: 1.2 million
• Cost of Gulf War to US: $61 billion
• Amount reimbursed to the US by coalition partners for Gulf War: $50 billion
• Bush Administration’s estimated cost of War with Iraq: $100 billion
• Amount expected to be reimbursed to US for Iraq War: $0
• Amount of money offered to Turkey to join coalition: $20+ billion
• Percentage of Turkish population opposed to war with Iraq: 94%
• Number of US airlines that went out of business following the Gulf War: 3
• Number of times US has approved any nation launching a “pre-emptive” first strike in a military conflict: 0
• Number of members of Congress with a child in the Armed Forces: 1
• Official government figures for number of demonstrators worldwide on February 15th in opposition to War in Iraq: 8 million
• Number of times in the history of the world that 8 million people have gathered on one day for any reason other than February 15th: 0
• Number of the step each individual must take to exercise democratic right to be heard: 1…2,3,4,5…