Economy: What's a six-letter word that describes what you get when you combine spiking jobless claims and rising inflation? Answer: M-I-S-E-R-Y. And as new reports show, Obama is dishing out heaping portions of it.The two reports out of the Labor Department are troubling enough on their own. Jobless claims hit 428,000 last week, up 11,000 from the week before, the highest level in months and, naturally, unexpected. And inflation in August was up 3.8% over last year, also higher than forecast.
These reports also point to a more worrisome trend. With unemployment stuck at a stratospheric 9.1% -- and giving no signs of coming down soon -- inflation is now climbing. The current annual rate is more than twice where it stood in January. Combine the two, and you have a Misery Index of 12.9 -- up 21% this year and a stunning 64% since Obama took office.
To put the current index in some historical context: (1) it's higher than any time in the past 28 years, (2) it's 36% higher than the post-World War II average of 9.5 and (3) there have been only nine years in the past 63 when the annual Misery Index topped 12.9 -- all in the inflationary 1970s.
The only thing surprising about today's miserable economic picture is that so many economists continue to be surprised by it. Don't they remember what happened the last time we indulged in rampant government spending, regulatory hyperactivity and endless federal meddling in the economy back in the '70s?
The only problem now is that Obama steadfastly refuses to learn from his mistakes. His "jobs" spending bill merely repeats his failed stimulus plan. His proposed tax hikes would only further choke off growth. And his regulatory "reform" amounts to trimming the branches while his agencies plant forests of new rules.
Rising prices and a stagnant economy probably aren't the "hope and change" voters were expecting when they elected Obama. But that's precisely what they're getting from his '70s-style economic policies.
Everyone at the 'burg! Who saw this coming when teh 0ne was elected? Wow... everyone? We must be psychic!