From 200314,
the misery index in Ecuador has been constant at around 20--one of the lowest in Latin America.
Taken together, they constitute a lawless element that contributes mightily to
the misery index of those trying to make an honest living in Niagara Falls, that dwindling population for whom rap sheets and welfare checks aren't a part of everyday reality.
Cato looked at the countries' economic performance-consumer price, unemployment, interest rate, gross domestic product-and political leadership to assess
the misery index.
According to the "Cato Institute," an American libertarian think tank, based in Washington DC, Tunisia ranks 30th out of 90 in
the Misery Index for 2013, a ranking of the most miserable countries in the world, with a score of 21.5.
In the 1970s, the simultaneous emergence of high inflation and high unemployment -- contradicting the then-accepted theory that an increase in one would cause a decrease in the other -- inspired the term "stagflation'' and the notorious "misery index.'' (
The misery index added inflation and unemployment.
In addition to having miserable parents, they've never known any home other than Rockford, so I guess that puts them at the very bottom--or is it the top?--of
the misery index. On the other hand, all of them are likely to leave town for college, so their best days, presumably, are yet to come.
In the 1970s, when
the misery index was sky-high and America stewed in its own malaise, series featuring characters from the lower classes such as Good Times, Sanford and Son and All in the Family flourished.
For it now seems to be the case that while the commercial order discourages the "tranquility" of individual happiness by making everyone pursue money and material goods, individuals considered as a whole are somehow happier because
the misery index is lower.
And as unemployment rises,
the misery index for the unemployed and their families will rise also and the economy will not strengthen; it will further weaken.
<strong>#22</strong> Do you remember how much was made of the "Misery Index" during the presidency of Jimmy Carter? At that time, the "Misery Index" was constantly making headlines in newspapers all across the country. Well, <a href="http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2011/05/shadow-stat-misery-index-highest-on.html">according to John Williams of Shadow Government Statistics</a>, if we calculated unemployment and inflation the same way that we did back during the Carter administration, then
the Misery Index today would actually be higher than at any point during the presidency of Jimmy Carter.
And just to pile on, it's possible that another factor is upping
the misery index. Dittmer said he has been tracking the fallout, literally, from last spring's eruption of a volcano in Iceland, which shot enough ash high enough into the atmosphere to shut down aviation over much of Europe for weeks.
The misery index for credit union managers, employees and members who survived the April 27 sweep of killer tornadoes across seven states was no less than that shared by most residents.