By CultureBanx Team
- The Misery Index is currently at 8.4%
- During the last recession the top 1% captured 85% of post-recession income growth
Consumers are deep in their bag of feelings as the ‘Misery Index’, the tool used to measure the degree of economic distress felt by everyday people, due to the risk of (or actual) joblessness combined with an increasing cost of living, continues to rise. Inflation has reached 40-year highs and the Federal Reserve is constantly raising rates to slow the economy down without sending it into a recession, further adding to folks’ daily misery. With the current Misery Index at 8.48%: Unemployment 3.5% + Core Inflation 5%, just how long will be in a sunken place?
Why This Matters: The misery index is meant to measure American households’ economic well-being. So the main idea here is that the higher the index, the worse the misery. One of the many reasons our everyday pain is on the rise is because the Fed continues to keep its foot on the economy’s neck with constant rate hikes.
During the last recession minorities also suffered the most when the economic downturn caused the unemployment rate to soar. Even worse, on a national level across all races during the last recession the top 1% captured 85% of post-recession income growth from 2009 to 2013, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
What’s Next: Unfortunately, a recession could be coming. The chances of us entering a recession by Q1 2024 are at 71.7%, per Bloomberg. If history were to repeat itself, minorities will struggle the most and be hardest hit during a recession, thanks to its impact on housing and the job market. Basically, minorities haven’t made enough gains to weather a new impending storm.
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