Misery Index

In the 1970s, economists introduced "The Misery Index". It was a way to measure how Stagflation was putting the squeeze on American families. Since we appear in the mood for 1970s retro chic, let's reintroduce the Misery Index:

2(Unemployment rate) + Inflation Rate = Current Misery levels

Right now we are at 5.5% unemployment and the CPI is 7.9%.

2(5.5) + 7.9 = 18.9% Misery

This is our benchmark, let's see where it goes from there.