April 30, 200818 yr For those who think this is the worst economy since the depression and that Bush is worse than Carter. Think again. 20.76 folks! WOW! :eek:
April 30, 200818 yr I remember the mid 70's to 80's, rough times. Especially when the big snow storms would hit!
April 30, 200818 yr The Misery Index is the unemployment percentage plus the inflation rate. Kind of meaningless.
April 30, 200818 yr Especially when the big snow storms would hit! Storms? I thought it was a single long storm lasting from 77 to 78!
April 30, 200818 yr The Misery Index is the unemployment percentage plus the inflation rate. Kind of meaningless. I thought it also was to include the interest rates as well. Carter came up with this ploy as a campaign tatic with the economic slowdown under Ford. It came back to bite him as the economy went south during his 4 years in office.
April 30, 200818 yr I thought it also was to include the interest rates as well. Carter came up with this ploy as a campaign tatic with the economic slowdown under Ford. It came back to bite him as the economy went south during his 4 years in office. If interest rates were included, Carter's lead in the misery index would be much larger.
April 30, 200818 yr Author The Misery Index is the unemployment percentage plus the inflation rate. Kind of meaningless.Why is that meaningless?
April 30, 200818 yr Author If interest rates were included, Carter's lead in the misery index would be much larger.:thumb:
April 30, 200818 yr When it comes to spreading misery and despair, former President Carter is the undisputed American heavyweight champion. If Carter had been a dictator, he might have gotten a shot at the world title. :lol:
April 30, 200818 yr Why is that meaningless? The inflation is being artifically held in check by the Fed. They were supposed to drop rates again today. That has other bad consequences. Also, the unemployment rate only includes those that are on the unemployment rolls. The index doesn't include things like #of foreclosures, bankruptcies, the amount of credit being paid on. Today's economy isn't as simple as it was 30 years ago. As consumers, we have more tools to soften the hard times, that is until it all collapses like a stack of cards.
April 30, 200818 yr The inflation is being artifically held in check by the Fed. They were supposed to drop rates again today. That has other bad consequences. Also, the unemployment rate only includes those that are on the unemployment rolls. The index doesn't include things like #of foreclosures, bankruptcies, the amount of credit being paid on. Today's economy isn't as simple as it was 30 years ago. As consumers, we have more tools to soften the hard times, that is until it all collapses like a stack of cards. All that said, if you were limited to just two measures to judge the economy, inflation rate and unemployment rate are hard to beat.
April 30, 200818 yr Also, shouldn't the chart list the year 1963 under Kennedy? He was killed in Nov 23, 1963.
April 30, 200818 yr All that said, if you were limited to just two measures to judge the economy, inflation rate and unemployment rate are hard to beat. Six years ago the inflation rate was 1.48%. Today its 3.98%. Foreclosures were up by 79% in 2007. Dollars per Euro 6 years ago. 1.10670 Dollars per Euro now. 0.64070 Price of gasoline 6 years ago: $1.353 Price of gasoline today: $3.639 Price of light crude oil 6 years ago: $23.78 Price of light crude oil now: $115.95 Other changes in past 6 years Price of white bread up 33.4% Electricity up 29.6% Natural gas up 76.6% Heating oil up 230% Ground chuck up 29% Eggs up 120% Apples up 32.1% Oranges up 26.5% Tomatoes up 42% Orange Juice up 36% A 30% increase equates to an annual inflation rate of 4.45%. Average wages went up 16.2% from 2002 to 2006, or 3.8% a year.
April 30, 200818 yr When it comes to spreading misery and despair, former President Carter is the undisputed American heavyweight champion. If Carter had been a dictator, he might have gotten a shot at the world title. :lol: That's for sure and even more so now .
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