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Moneynews...
‘Misery’ Levels Hit
28-Year-High in US
Friday, 17 Jun 2011
By Julie Crawshaw
The latest “Misery Index” shows that Americans are more miserable than
they’ve been in the past 28 years, economically speaking.
The monthly index, an unofficial measurement created by economist
Arthur Okun back in the 1970s using the simple premise to total the
inflation and unemployment rates, is now 62 percent higher than when
President Barack Obama first took office in 2009.
The May index is at 12.7 (9.1 percent unemployment and 3.6 percent
annualized inflation). That compares to an all-time high of 21.98 in
June 1980, and a historical low of 2.97 in July 1953. In 2011, it has
inched up every month since January’s reading of 10.63.
“The good news is that other measures suggest conditions aren’t quite
that bad and over the next 18 months the gloom should lift a little,” a
chief U.S. economist wrote in a Misery analysis reported by CNBC. “The
bad news is that households won’t be in the mood to boost their
spending significantly for several more years.”
Read the rest of the story at Moneynews
More on the Misery
Index
The misery index was initiated by economist Arthur Okun, an adviser to
President Lyndon Johnson in the 1960’s. It is simply the unemployment
rate added to the inflation rate. It is assumed that both a higher rate
of unemployment and a worsening of inflation both create economic and
social costs for a country. A combination of rising inflation and more
people out of work implies a deterioration in economic performance and
a rise in the misery index.
Misery Index by President
All time winners (end of term): Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Bill
Clinton
All time winners (percent improvement): Harry Truman, Ronald Reagan
All time losers (end of term): Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford
(note, though not end of term, Barack Obama has been placed third,
ahead of Ford)
All time losers (percent increase in “misery”): Richard Nixon, Jimmy
Carter (note, though not end of term, Barack Obama has been placed
third)
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