Misery Index at record high

Otter · May 15, 2011

Yep...between the record high gas prices & unemployment, this is a no-brainer:

Shadow Stat Misery Index Highest on Record

John Williams, over at Shadow Stats, compiles economic data for inflation and unemployment the way it used to be calculated pre-1990. Based on that data, the CPI inflation rate is over 10%, and the unemployment rate is over 15% (see charts). The Misery Index is the sum of the current inflation rate and the unemployment rate. If it were to be calculated using the older methods, the Index would now be over 25, a record high. It surpasses the old index high of 21.98, which occurred in June 1980, when Jimmy Carter was president.
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waltky · Aug 11, 2011

Nest eggs are empty...

Most Americans can't afford a $1,000 emergency expense
August 10, 2011: It's less than the cost of a car repair, but many Americans would struggle to come up with $1,000.

When the unexpected strikes, most Americans aren't prepared to pay for it. A majority, or 64%, of Americans don't have enough cash on hand to handle a $1,000 emergency expense, according to a survey by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, or NFCC, released on Wednesday. Only 36% said they would tap their rainy day funds for an emergency. The rest of the 2,700 people polled said that they would have to go to other extremes to cover an unexpected expense, such as borrowing money or taking out a cash advance on a credit card.

"It's alarming," said Gail Cunningham, a spokeswoman for the Washington, DC-based non-profit. "For consumers who live paycheck to paycheck -- having spent tomorrow's money -- an unplanned expense can truly put them in financial distress," she noted. That's the case for Allyson Curtis, 35. "I think about it every day," she said. Curtis was unemployed for only three months last year, but in that time she accumulated $5,000 in credit card debt that she's now struggling to pay down. In the case of an emergency, Curtis said she would likely postpone other payments and pile on additional debt.

She is already putting off $450 in dental work and a car inspection due to a crack in her windshield, which will cost $300 to replace, she said. Many respondents, 17%, said they would borrow money from friends or family. Another 17% said they would neglect other financial obligations -- like a credit card bill or mortgage payment -- in order to free up some funds. Alternatively, 12% of the respondents said they would have to sell or pawn some assets to come up with $1,000 and 9% said they would need to take out a loan. Another 9% said they would get a cash advance from a credit card, according to the NFCC.

Cunningham finds that particularly troubling. Neglecting other debt obligations -- or worse piling on more debt -- "really exacerbates the problem," she said. An earlier study by the same organization found that 30% of Americans have zero dollars in non-retirement savings. A separate study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that 50% of Americans would struggle to come up with $2,000 in a pinch.

Source
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Iriemon · Aug 17, 2011

Otter said: ↑

Yep...between the record high gas prices & unemployment, this is a no-brainer:

Shadow Stat Misery Index Highest on Record

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"Shadow stats"? 10-15% unemployment in the late 90s? Are you kidding me?

Yeah, who can forget how tough it was to get a job in the late 90s!

If you didn't barf on your interviewer you got a job in the late 1990s.

Shadow stats. What a joke.

macaroniman · Aug 18, 2011

waltky said: ↑

Nest eggs are empty...

Most Americans can't afford a $1,000 emergency expense
August 10, 2011: It's less than the cost of a car repair, but many Americans would struggle to come up with $1,000.
Click to expand...

gee I wonder why. read this horrid vomit inducing behavior of our "watchdogs". and wonder why everbody's nest eggs are empty.http://www.rollingstone.com/politic...wall-street-crimes-20110817?link=mostpopular3

Reiver · Oct 23, 2018

Otter said: ↑

Yep...between the record high gas prices & unemployment, this is a no-brainer:

Shadow Stat Misery Index Highest on Record
Click to expand...

Really can't see the point of it. It comes across like a tabloid version of concepts from the Phillips Curve. And why use the term misery? Might as well use a properly conducted happiness index and look for data trends.

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Misery Index at record high

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