Opinion: Piracy, counterfeiting cost U.S. $58B annually

John MacIntyre is a Nova Scotia-based author and former city magazine editor. His “Figuratively Speaking” column, launched in 1989, is published in more than 40 newspapers and magazines.

Annual loss to the U.S. economy through piracy and counterfeiting, according to the study, “The True Cost of Copyright Piracy to the U.S. Economy” by The Institute for Policy Innovation: $58 billion

Cost in jobs for U.S. workers: 373,375

Upward revenue trend
Percentage of firms with more than 1,000 employees that achieved at least a 6 percent increase in revenue compared compared to the previous year, according to a survey of investment managers released by SimCorp StrategyLab: 52

Ranks of the introduction of new products, targeting new client segments and entering new geographic markets on the list of key growth acceleration strategies: 1, 2, 3

Surpassing earnings expectations
Percentage of business owners with between two and 10 employees who are earning more than they had hoped to make when they started their companies, according to a survey by SnagAJob.com: 21

Average number of hours these small-business owners say they put in every week toward their business: 58

Economic insulation
Percentage of small-business owners who say they would give up 10 percent of their company in exchange for a guarantee that they’d be protected from negative economic effects in 2010, according to a survey released by Brother International Corp.: 15

Percentage of small-business owners who say the economy has taken a toll on their well-being and who find that their stress level is at the highest it’s ever been: 51

Spending shift
Percentage of consumer spending that is now focused on repairing items rather than purchasing new items, according to a report by Kiwi Shoe Care: 8

Percentage of consumers who have reduced indulgent spending during this recession, notably on new wardrobe items, such as shoes: 66

Debt in the U.K.
Current average personal debt of an individual in the U.K. (excluding mortgages), according to research carried out by the Post Office and Baines and Ernst: 9,731.51 pounds

Percentage of consumers who admitted to hiding their debt from their partner: 20

Percentage of those with hidden debt who have never been open about the true extent of their debt: 78

Of the 22 percent who were open, percentage who were discovered rather than chose to come clean: 60

Idle Thought
“Nations have recently been led to borrow billions for war; no nation has ever borrowed largely for education. Probably, no nation is rich enough to pay for both war and civilization. We must make our choice; we cannot have both.” – Abraham Flexner, educator
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