Twenty Questions: Social Justice Quiz
(Answers below)
by Bill Quigley
1. In 1968 the minimum wage was $1.60 per hour. How
much would the minimum wage be today if it had kept
pace with inflation?
2. In 1965, CEOs in major companies made 24 times more
than the average worker. In 2003, CEOs earned how many
times more than the average worker?
3. The US is composed of 3,066 counties. In how many
of the nation's 3,066 counties can someone who works
full-time and earns the federal minimum wage afford to
pay rent and utilities on a one-bedroom apartment?
4. How much must the typical US worker must earn per
hour hour if they dedicate 30% of their income to
housing costs.
5. How many million workers in the US earn
poverty-level wages of less than $8.20 an hour?
6. What are Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky,
Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota,
Oregon, South Dakota and Tennessee?
7. What are Delaware, Hawaii, Montana, New Hampshire,
New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, and West Virginia?
8. In 2001, the average financial wealth for black
householders was about what % of the average for white
households?
9. The median financial wealth for blacks is how much
of the corresponding figure for whites?
10. Over the entire 28 year history of the Berlin
Wall, 287 people perished trying to cross it. In the
ten years since the Clinton administration implemented
the current U.S. border strategy with Mexico, how many
people have died trying to cross?
11. Where does the US rank worldwide in the
imprisonment of its citizens?
12. In 2004, the direct reported US military budget
was how much for each second of the year?
13. In 2003, the US military budget was how many times
larger than the Chinese budget, the second largest
spender?
14. In 2003, the US military budget was how many times
as large as the combined spending of the seven
so-called "rogue" states (Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya,
North Korea, Sudan and Syria)?
15. The difference in income per head between the
richest nation and the poorest nation in 1750 was
about 5 to 1. Today the difference between the richest
nation and the poorest nation is what?
16. Of the 6.2 billion people in the world today, how
many live on less than $1 per day, and how many live
on less than $2 per day?
17. The richest 1% in the world receive as much income
as what percentage of the poorest?
18. The Congress under President Bush has been more
generous in helping poor countries than under
President Clinton. In 2003, the US increased official
development assistance to poor countries by one-fifth.
Where does the US contribution rank in the top 22
countries in proportion to our economy?
19. Americans give how much per day in government
assistance to poor countries?
20. Americans spend how much on soft drinks each day?
ANSWERS to Twenty Questions:
1. The minimum wage would be $8.70 today if it had
kept pace with inflation. Brennan Center, NYU Law
School, November 3, 2004.
2. In 1965, CEOs in major companies made 24 times more
than the average worker. In 2003, CEOs earned 185
times more than the average worker. "Wages" in State
of Working America 2004-2005, Economic Policy
Institute, www.epinet.org
3. In four of the nation's 3,066 counties can someone
who works full-time and earns the federal minimum wage
afford to pay rent and utilities on a one-bedroom
apartment. New York Times, "Study Finds Gap in Wages
and Housing Costs," December 25, 2004.
4. In fact, the typical US worker must earn $15.37 an
hour if they dedicate 30% of their income to housing
costs. New York Times, "Study Finds Gap in Wages and
Housing Costs," December 24, 2004.
5. How many people in the US earn poverty-level wages
of less than $8.20 an hour? More than 30 million
workers. William Quigley, ENDING POVERTY AS WE KNOW
IT: Guaranteeing A Right to A Job at a Living Wage 24
(Temple 2003).
6. What are Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky,
Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota,
Oregon, South Dakota and Tennessee? The total
population of these states represents the number of
people in the US living below the official poverty
line. William Quigley, ENDING POVERTY AS WE KNOW IT:
Guaranteeing A Right to A Job at a Living Wage 23-24
(Temple 2003).
7. What are Delaware, Hawaii, Montana, New Hampshire,
New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, and West Virginia?
The total populations of these state populations must
be added to the states above if you count all the
people below 125% of the official poverty line, a
total of 22 states. William Quigley, ENDING POVERTY AS
WE KNOW IT: Guaranteeing A Right to A Job at a Living
Wage 23-24 (Temple 2003).
8. In 2001, the average financial wealth for black
householders was about 12% of the average for white
households. "Minorities," in State of Working America
2004-2005, Economic Policy Institute, www.epinet.org
9. The median financial wealth for blacks was $1,100,
less than 3% of the corresponding figure for whites.
"Minorities," in State of Working America 2004-2005,
Economic Policy Institute, www.epinet.org
10. Over the entire 28 year history of the Berlin
Wall, 287 people perished trying to cross it. In the
ten years since the Clinton administration implemented
the current U.S. border strategy with Mexico, more
than 2,500 people have died trying to cross. Wayne
Cornelius, director of the Center for Comparative
Immigration Studies at UC San Diego. Marc Cooper, "On
the Border of Hypocrisy," December 5, 2003, LA Weekly.
11. Where does the US rank worldwide in the
imprisonment of its citizens? First. The US imprisons
over 700 persons per 100,000. Russia is second with
584. Sentencing Project, Facts About Prisons and
Prisoners. www.sentencingproject.org
12. In 2004, the direct reported US military budget
was over $399 billion, $12,000 a second.
www.globalissues.org
13. In 2003, the US military budget was more than 8
times larger than the Chinese budget, the second
largest spender. www.globalissues.org
14. The US military budget was more than 29 times as
large as the combined spending of the seven "rogue"
states (Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan
and Syria). Even if you add China and Russia’s
military spending to that of the seven potential
enemies, all nine nations together spent $116.2
billion, 27% of the U.S. military budget. The US
military budget is more than the combined spending of
the next twenty three nations. www.globalissues.org
15. The difference in income per head between the
richest nation and the poorest nation in 1750 was
about 5 to 1. Today the difference between the richest
nation, Switzerland, and the poorest nation,
Mozambique, is about 400 to 1. (David S. Landes, THE
WEALTH AND POVERTY OF NATIONS, xx, W.W. Norton 1998).
16. Of the 6.2 billion people in the world today, 1.2
billion live on less than $1 per day, 2.8 billion live
on less than $2 per day. 2002 UN Human Development
Report.
17. The richest 1% in the world receive as much income
as the poorest 57%. 2002 UN Human Development Report.
18. The Congress under President Bush has been more
generous in helping poor countries than under
President Clinton. In 2003, the US increased official
development assistance to poor countries by one-fifth.
Where does the US contribution rank in the top 22
countries in proportion to our economy? Last. Nicholas
D. Kristof, "Land of Penny Pinchers," New York Times,
January 5, 2005.
19. Americans on average give how much per day in
government assistance to poor countries? 15 cents.
Nicholas D. Kristof, "Land of Penny Pinchers," New
York Times, January 5, 2005.
20. Americans spend how much on soft drinks each day?
60 cents. Nicholas D. Kristof, "Land of Penny
Pinchers," New York Times, January 5, 2005.
"I am convinced that if we are to get on the right
side of the world revolution, we as a nation must
undergo a radical revolution of values. We must
rapidly begin the shift from a "thing" oriented
society to a "person-oriented" society. When machines
and computers, profit motives and property rights are
considered more important than people, the giant
triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are
incapable of being conquered. A true revolution of
values will soon cause us to question the fairness and
justice of many of our past and present policies."
--Martin Luther King, Jr., "A Time to Break Silence,"
April 4, 1967.
Bill Quigley is a law professor at Loyola University
New Orleans. He can be reached at
[email protected] 
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