This week, the Fed announced the biggest interest rate hike since 1994.
The central bank is trying to fight inflation by slowing the economy down without sending it into a recession.
- Unfortunately, a recession is looking likely: The of us entering one by Q1 2024 are at 71.7%, per Bloomberg.
Whatever happens…
… people are feeling the heat either way. The — a measure that sums up inflation and unemployment rates — is rising dramatically.
- What it tells us: The misery index is meant to measure American households’ economic well-being. The idea: the higher the index, the worse the misery.
The first misery index was developed by economist Arthur Okun, an advisor to President Lyndon Johnson, in the 1970s.
Unrelated, but related: Apparently, it’s a to drive past the Missouri state line while blasting Maroon 5’s “Misery.”