Wall Street indexes rise and fall but the economic misery index goes on forever as a single-number summary of what is happening on Main Street. I therefore think it is well worth watching as a measure of how the economy is doing. The index (simply the sum of unemployment and inflation rates) rose in June to 10.5, the highest level in 15 years, i.e., since January 1993, the month President Bill Clinton was inaugurated and President G.H.W. Bush left office. Under Clinton the index improved but it has recently climbed back to what it was when he took over.
Misery Index in the Last Month in Office of Recent Presidents:
Carter: 19.3
Reagan: 10.1
Bush 41: 10.6
Clinton: 7.9
Bush 43 (as of June 2008): 10.5
More (Huffington Post)
Early alerts on longer-term business, economic and public policy issues. Successor to the web site www.cityeconomist.com. Maintained by John Tepper Marlin.
Showing posts with label George H. W. Bush. Show all posts
Showing posts with label George H. W. Bush. Show all posts
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Misery Index Climbs
I write about the biographical and economic threads in history. Special interests include symbols of family, such as coats of arms, and the behavior of families in a crisis.
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