Those who can make you believe in absurdities can make you commit atrocities. – Voltaire

Welcome to “Thursday Numbers!” In case you’re a first-time visitor, this is the weekly column where I take a look at the numbers that are in the news (in descending order) and provide commentary sometimes sprinkled with sarcasm and humor.

This week’s topics include Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Jerry Falwell Jr., unemployment claims, USA coronavirus deaths, Trump’s false and misleading claims, Social Security benefits, Sturgis Motorcycle Rally & Coronavirus, Trump’s disapproval rating, 2020 Census, plus much more!

200,000,000,000

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos became the world’s first person ever to hit a net worth of $200 billion on Wednesday, as the tech giant’s stock continued a steady climb that kicked off in mid-March, as the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S. (The Wrap)

It was also reported that, for comparison, Bezos is personally worth more than Nike, McDonald’s, and Pepsi, which are all valued between $139 billion and $191 billion.

Is this a great country or what…

10,500,000

Jerry Falwell Jr. could be awaiting about $10.5 million from Liberty University following his resignation from the conservative Christian school amid a steamy sex scandal, a report said. (NY Post)

Falwell gives religion a bad name…

1,006,000

In the week ending August 22, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 1,006,000, a decrease of 98,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised down by 2,000 from 1,106,000 to
1,104,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,068,000, a decrease of 107,250 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised down by 500 from 1,175,750 to 1,175,250. (DOL)

179,743

That’s how many people have died in the United States from coronavirus, according to the latest data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. There are at least 179,743 deaths and 5,823,685 cases across the country so far. The first death in the US was reported on February 29. (John Hopkins)

Last Thursday there were 173,125 deaths.

20,000

It took President Trump 827 days to top 10,000 false and misleading claims in The Fact Checker’s database, an average of 12 claims a day. But on July 9, just 440 days later, the president crossed the 20,000 mark — an average of 23 claims a day over a 14-month period. (WaPo)

Trump is a liar plain and simple.

2023

The federal government’s ability to pay Social Security benefits could stop by mid-2023 if President Donald Trump were to permanently terminate the payroll tax and not offer another revenue source, the chief actuary of the Social Security Administration said Monday. (NBC News)

114

Seventy-seven COVID-19 cases from out-of-state residents who apparently contracted the virus at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally that ran from Aug. 7 to 16 have been identified, bringing the total to 114 COVID-19 cases from the rally. (Rapid City Journal)

Party on…

61

An analysis of anonymous cell phone data from Camber Systems, a firm that aggregates cell phone activity for health researchers, found that 61% of all the counties in the U.S. have been visited by someone who attended the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, creating a travel hub that was comparable to a major U.S. city. (AP)

54.3

That is President Donald Trump’s disapproval rating. His approval rating is just 42.1%. (FiveThirtyEight)

Last week his disapproval rating was 53.9%.

47

That’s Montana’s rank for the 2020 Census self-response. Last week Montana ranked 47. Montana has a 57.9% response rate. Last week Montana had a 57.4% response rate. Minnesota leads the nation with a 73.6% rating. The national response rate is 64.6%. (Census)

Fill out your Census forms, people!

##VOTE##