Arthur M. Okun, an economist, created the U.S. Misery Index in 1970 to quantify and describe the economic distress that everyday Americans were experiencing. Although not perfect, the index can be used to aid Americans and their leaders in understanding the economic forces that affect their lives as well as the financial situation of the nation as a whole.
This index is calculated by adding U.S. unemployment rates to U.S. inflation rates. It is popular as a measure of economic distress or health. The U.S. Misery Index is a measure of how distressed or miserable Americans are. The original “discomfort index” was called the U.S. Misery Index. Today, the sum of these two rates can be called the U.S. Misery Index.
U.S. Misery Index = U.S.Unemployment + U.S.Inflation
Current U.S. Misery Index – Unemployment 3.4% + U.S. inflation 6.41% = 9.81%
The index is rising, and people become more frustrated and anxious about future economic opportunities and their current situation. Americans are more worried about the future and either cut back on spending or use credit to increase their debt. As Washington, D.C.’s leaders don’t seem know, debt only makes financial misery worse.
The graph shows that the index has dropped slightly in the last few months. Why is the majority of Americans not feeling relief from their misery? Although the answer is complicated, it lies mainly in Biden & Co’s sleight of hand accounting methods. “Joe Biden has a poor relationship with the truth, especially when it comes down to the economy,” Matt Margolis, PJ Media, reported last week.
Biden claimed that 12 million jobs — 12 million — have been created since he took office. Biden claimed that “that’s the strongest year of job growth in history” despite the fact that about 10 million jobs were lost to the pandemic and 2 million jobs have not kept pace with population growth.
Jack, those unemployment numbers are clearly a lot of misinformation. What about the inflation numbers? Matt Margolis also fact-checked Biden’s claims regarding inflation levels.
Biden stated that inflation was 1.4% when he took office. This was in line with the 1.2% average inflation rate for 2020. Now, in January 2023, inflation is at 6.41%. Is there anything to be proud of when there is 6.41% inflation? Planet Biden apparently.
No matter how you look at it, Americans still feel economic misery due to Bidenflation. Despite the fact that inflation is falling, prices continue to rise on almost everything. With prices at 6.411% higher than they were a year ago, Americans feel no decline in inflation from 6.45% to 6.411%. Wages continue to fall, and so the drop in the rate of 6.45% to 6.411% seems like no decrease to American wallets.
