How Miserable? Index Says the Worst in 28 Years

CNBC ^ | 6/17/11

[markomalley]

When it comes to measuring the combination of unemployment and inflation, it doesn’t get much more miserable than this.

In fa Stressed out man ct, misery, as measured in the unofficial Misery Index that simply totals the unemployment and inflation rates, is at a 28-year high, reflective of how weak the economic recovery has been and how far there is to go.

The index, first compiled during the soaring inflation days of the 1970s by economist Arthur Okun, is registering a nausea-inducing 12.7—9.1 percent for unemployment and 3.6 percent for annualized inflation—a number not seen since 1983. The index has been above 10 since November 2009 and had been under double-digits from June 1993 through May 2008.

The good news, of course, is that the Fed-led Paul Volcker embarked on a highly successful inflation-slaying campaign that brought the level of misery down sharply through the rest of the ’80s recovery decade.

The bad news, of course, is all the bad news.

[WOBBLY BOB]

Weiner can play Horseshack in the new sitcom.

[Pollster1]

That's neither surprising nor unexpected, but it is a change - and better than many people hoped for two years into yet another failed experiment with socialism.

[ClearCase_guy]

Oh? And do we calculate these numbers the same way today as we did in 1983? I don’t think we do. I think what we have today is significantly worse than what we had in 1983.

[DeaconRed]

HOPE & CHANGE
All we have after ZERO spent at least 2 Trillion Dollars to stimulate the economy.
Now the economy is worse off and we are in debt another $2T
If we continue on this course we are doomed. We are probably doomed anyway thanks to ZERO. We may be past the point of no return already! ! ! ! !

[Wyatt's Torch]

The index is also trending differently than it was in 1983. In 83 it had been coming down off the highs of 1980. Now it's the highest point since 1983. It's getting worse unlike Reagan's 83 numbers which were the best in months.

[Windflier]

[Gideon7]

And the feds changed the way they measure inflation. If they used the same method as in 1983, inflation today would be listed at around 10% instead of 3-4%.

[Snickering Hound]

[ratzoe]

The index is also trending differently than it was in 1983. In 83 it had been coming down off the highs of 1980. Now it's the highest point since 1983. It's getting worse unlike Reagan's 83 numbers which were the best in months.

EXACTLY, the Carter residue was still clinging to the economy.

[libertarian27]

No kidding! 28 years ago, 1983, was much, much better than it is now......we can’t all be looking at the same numbers - not by a long shot.

[ransomnote]

Love that picture! Thanks!

Like this comment from Althouse’s blog:

“Shouting Thomas said...

No doubt about it.

Obama seems like a very distant preacher who is constantly irritated by the failings of his flock.

We aren’t smart enough to appreciate his genius. We burden him with exaggerated expectations. He was bequeathed a difficult political and economic climate.

He’s trying to do the best for us racists and rubes, but we are too stupid to understand... we are bitter clingers.”
http://althouse.blogspot.com/2011/06/michele-bachmann-challenging-obama-in.html?showComment=1308326500018#c6418419188509495133

[MsLady]

Absolutely, I was just thinking the same thing. That was the year I got married and the years I remember as being financially the hardest was around 1978/79. That’s when we had the gas lines, gas went up from I think it had been around 29 cents up to $1. Sugar prices went up and toilet paper and paper towels became hard to find at times.

[Dilbert San Diego]

Jimmy Carter invented the misery index in the 1976 election campaign.

He criticized President Ford for presiding over such terrible economic conditions.

And Jimmy said that anyone presiding over such a high misery index (inflation + unemployment) had no business running for election to be president of the United States.

Four years later, when Jimmy was running for re-election, he was presiding over a worse misery index than that experienced under President Ford, Jimmy thought he had every right to run for re-election. The criteria for judging the misery index had changed.

So remember politics will always be there. The criteria for judging these things are different, depending on whether an evil Republican or a good Democrat sits in the Oval Office.

[RipSawyer]

“I think what we have today is significantly worse than what we had in 1983.”
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

I think there is no way on this Earth that you could be wrong.

[Windflier]

"Obama seems like a very distant preacher who is constantly irritated by the failings of his flock.

We aren’t smart enough to appreciate his genius. We burden him with exaggerated expectations. He was bequeathed a difficult political and economic climate.

He’s trying to do the best for us racists and rubes, but we are too stupid to understand... we are bitter clingers.”

And that's Obama on his better days. Most of the time, he's either petulant, petty, vindictive, sullen, snooty, arrogant, presumptuous, clueless, or just downright stupid.