Here are some numbers I gathered this morning:
[ul][li]U.S. unemployment rate: 4.7%[/li][li]DJIA: 19,827.25[/li][li]NASDAQ: 5,555.33[/li][li]U.S. average price of gas: $2.36/gallon[/ul][/li]
Why am I posting in MPSIMS? Because I don’t want this thread to be a debate. I don’t want it to be political bickering. I don’t want it to be flame-fest. The numbers are factual data from reputable sites, and not opinion.
All of the numbers will change. They’ll all go up, and they’ll all go down. I’m using them as a baseline as of today, as sort of a ‘time capsule’ that we can look back on in a few years to see how the country fares.
America was never a great country, except to those who measure it only by its wealth and power. In other words, the Trump yardstick. It is a long time since America has ever been admired for its moral or spiritual values.
Just out of curiosity, wonder if anyone could dig up similar data for 8 yrs ago.
Hope this link works - but a friend of mine posted some similar data in a column last week. This morning he mentioned he might try to dig up the 8 yrs ago numbers. I’ll post it if he does.
No digging required. My links go back farther. For the numbers in the OP, just punching the labels into your favorite search engine should be good enough.
As I said, I don’t want this thread to be filled with bickering. But I’m curious, which government website did you get your unemployment figures from? (Mine is from the U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.)
The full interview’s pretty hilarious to listen to though. He also reveals, and trademarks (during the interview) his slogan for '20: “Keep America Great!” - with an exclamation point!
The problem is those numbers do not catch the economic factors that people care about.
[ul]
[li]Can you afford a vacation[/li][li]Can you afford health care[/li][li]Can you afford college education[/li][li]Do you have an emergency fund[/li][li]Do you feel your job is stable and reliable[/li][li]If you lose your job, do you think you could find another one[/li][li]Would the new job pay as well or better than your current job[/li][li]Do you think your children will experience a better economic world than you[/li][li]Do you think you have enough saved for retirement[/li][/ul]
People more care about those issues than the unemployment rate or stock market.
Having said that, I think this thread is a good idea. Those values listed in the OP will change. Adding U-6 as someone else said is also a good idea.
Sorry I’m brainstorming here and typing one handed while cooking pancakes. I’ll have to look all this stuff up. I imagine many measures we’re going to have to wait for Q4 2016 or Jan 2017 numbers to be published.
