Jeff Cox writes at CNBC:
When it comes to measuring the combination of unemployment and inflation, it doesn’t get much more miserable than this.
In fact, 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.
No if I were doing the editing, I would rephrase that last bit to read,
The index remained under double-digits from June '93 through May '08, and since November 2009 has been above 10.
Even as miserable as we are, only 44% blame the President for the economy. 49% are still blaming George Bush.
The only "good" news is the five-point jump in common sense over last month, when 54% blamed the economy on Bush and only 39% on Obama.
By next November... who knows?
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