Bernie Sanders Proposals; Gun Projections; Big Spenders; and Solitary Confinement

I. Bernie Sanders' Proposals
0% - Amount of tuition that students at public universities would pay under Bernie Sanders' plan.
6.2% - Amount of the  capital-gains tax that Sanders would impose on people earning more than $200,000 per year.
12 - Weeks of paid medical and family leave that the government would provide for workers under Sanders' plan.
2M - Number of small-donor contributions received by the Sanders campaign as of December 2015. (Source: "DC By the Numbers," The Nation, February 8, 2016.)

II. Gun Deaths Among Young People
Among 15-to 24-year-olds, gun deaths are about to surpass car accidents as the leading cause of death. Projections are that in 2020, gun deaths will surpass  deaths by car accidents at about the 6,000th death mark.In the year 1981, gun deaths were close to 9,000 and deaths due to car accidents were slightly over 17,000. (Source: Mother Jones, May/June 2015.)

III. The Arms Race
In 1995, there were an estimated 200 million firearms in private hands. As of the end of 2012, there were  roughly 300 million. At this rate, the U.S. may have already passed the point in which there is a gun for every man, woman and child. By 2022, the number of guns will have substantially surpassed the number of people. (Source: "The Arms Race," Mother Jones, November/December 2012.)

IV. Hey, Big Spender
Every single member of Congress elected in the November 2012 national election got money from the 1 percent of the 1 percent, the tiny slice of top donors like Paul Singer, the billionaire hedge fund manager of the $21 billion Elliott Management firm.
*Percentage of population these big donors represent: 0.01%.
*Percentage of all 2012 campaign donations they gave: 28%.
*Total amount they gave to candidates: $410 million.
*To SUPER-PACS: $500 million.
*Percentage of campaign donations that went to Republicans: 59%.
*Percentage of big donations that came from Wall Street: 25%.
*Top employer for big donors: Goldman Sachs.
*13th biggest employer: Singer's Elliott Management.
*Total given by Goldman's magadonors: $4.7 million.
*Total given by Elliott's magadonors: $4.4 million. (Source: "Hey, Big Spender," Mother Jones, September/October 2013.)

V. Solitary Confinement's Tragic Numbers
81,622 - Number of prisoners in solitary confinement across the United States in 2005, the last year for which the federal government released data.
11,730 - Number of inmates held in California prisons as of the end of 2012.
7 - Percent of California inmates who were in isolation as of the end of 2012.
39 - Percentage of inmate suicides that happen in isolation units.
78 - Percentage of Security Housing Unit (SHU) inmates not classified as gang "leaders" or "members."
$12,317 - Extra annual cost to taxpayers for each prisoner in the Pelican Bay SHU.
11'7" by 7'7" - Dimensions of a SHU cell at Pelican Bay.
6' x 8' - Dimensions of the average American home's walk-in closet.
51 - Percentage of Pelican Bay SHU inmates who have spent at least five years in isolation.
89 - Number who have been in solitary for at least 20 years.
1 - number who have been there for 42 years. (Source: Ryan Jacobs, "42 years of Solitude," Mother Jones, November/December 2012.)