Trivial Pursuit VII

Welcome to another edition of trivial pursuit via The City Wire — an irregular feature meant to provide info that is likely entertaining and only accidentally informative in a useful manner. Enjoy.

STILL PROUD
A new Harris Poll finds that Americans are just as proud of their country as they were months after Sept. 11, 2001.

Today, 95% of Americans say they are proud to be an American citizen, compared to 97% in May 2002. However, in 2002, 84% said they were “very proud,” with 78% saying they are “very proud” in the recent survey.

When Americans hear the national anthem (Star Spangled Banner) being played, 87% say they usually feel proud to be an American, with 90% saying so in May 2002.

Among those aged 65 and older, 99% say they feel proud to be an American when they hear the national anthem as do 91% of those aged 50-64, 88% of those aged 40-49 and 86% of those aged 30-39. Among younger Americans this feeling is not as strong as 73% of those aged 18-24 and 72% of those aged 25-29 say they feel proud when they hear the national anthem.

ECONOMIC OPTIMISM
A recent Harris Poll finds that 46% of Americans believe the economy will improve in the coming year, while 32% say it will stay the same and 22% believe it will get worse. In May, just 38% believed the economy would improve in the coming year while 27% said they thought it would get worse.

Also, 24% of Americans now believe their household financial condition will be better in six months, while 48% say it will remain the same and 28% believe it will get worse. The 28% who say their household financial condition will get worse is the lowest number since this question was first asked in February of 2008.

EMERGENCY FUNDS
A new survey from Monster.com finds that 34% of U.S. workers report their savings would last one week or less if they were laid off, compared to 20% who say their savings would last six months or longer. Sixteen percent said their savings would last 2 to 4 weeks, and 14% said it would last 3 to 5 months.

DUMB
A Cargurus.com survey suggests that 52% of Americans have used a cell phone to text or e-mail while driving in the past 12 months. According to a July 2009 Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study, truck drivers face a 23 times greater risk of a crash or near crash while texting than when not doing so.

RETIREMENT HEALTH
Fort Worth-based First Command Financial reports that 72% of Americans are “somewhat concerned” about health care costs during retirement. However, they predict they need $33,000 above traditional retirement costs to cover health care, far less than First Command says will be needed.

According to First Command, the average retiree will need $166,000 for someone retiring in 2009 and living to 100.

“Among non-retired Americans with a written financial plan from a financial advisor, 41 percent include health care costs as part of their retirement planning, nearly double the percentage of those without a financial plan,” noted the First Command report.

GOT BATTERIES?
NextGen Research predicts a “power shortage” in the ability of batteries and fuel cells to  continue to provide adequate power to emerging new portable devices.

“Existing battery chemistries are approaching the limits of their energy densities, creating the potential for a ‘power shortage’ as increasingly smaller gadgets make growing demands on batteries that cannot provide sufficient sustained power to take advantage of the latest power-hungry features,” the company noted.

NextGen projects the global market for batteries and fuel cells for portable products will grow from $46 billion in 2009 to almost $64 billion in 2013.

NextGen officials do foresee any major technological developments in the near term, with lithium-ion to be the principal chemistry in secondary batteries, and alkaline and carbon zinc continuing to dominate the primary battery market.

“Much-heralded micro-fuel cells will not gain traction in the market until late in the forecast period,” according to NextGen.