Our Awful Situation

Economic ‘misery’ more widespread

Posted by Charlie Kilo on May 14th, 2008

Some experts argue that true inflation and unemployment - the components of the economy’s ‘Misery Index’ - are higher than the government’s official figures.

Really…

Americans are feeling a lot more economic pain than the government’s official statistics would lead you to believe, according to a growing number of experts.

They argue that figures for unemployment and inflation are being understated by the government.

Unemployment and inflation are typically added together to come up with a so-called “Misery Index.”

The “Misery Index” was often cited during periods of high unemployment and inflation, such as the mid 1970s and late 1970s to early 1980s.

And some fear the economy may be approaching those levels again.

The official numbers produce a current Misery Index of only 8.9 - inflation of 3.9% plus unemployment of 5%. That’s not far from the Misery Index’s low of 6.1 seen in 1998.

But using the estimates on CPI and unemployment from economists skeptical of the government numbers, the Misery Index is actually in the teens. Some worry it could even approach the post-World War II record of 20.6 in 1980.

“We’re looking at government numbers that are really out of whack,” said Kevin Phillips, author of the book “Bad Money.”

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Our Awful Situation

Economic ‘misery’ more widespread

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