The numbers don’t lie. Every statement in the following table was factual and verifiable at the time of publish in June, 2011.
Is this the kind of “change” you wanted to see?
| Item | January 2009 | June 2011 | % Change | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg Retail Price/gallon gas | $1.83 | $3.44 | 84% | 1 |
| Crude Oil, European Brent (barrel) | 43.48 | 99.02 | 127.7% | 2 |
| Crude Oil, West TX (barrel) | $38.74 | $91.38 | 135.9% | 2 |
| Gold: London (per troy oz.) | $853.25 | $1369.50 | 60.5% | 2 |
| Corn, No. 2 Yellow | $3.56 | $6.33 | 78.1% | 2 |
| Soybeans, No. 1 Yellow | $9.66 | $13.75 | 42.3% | 2 |
| Sugar, raw cane | $13.37 | $35.39 | 164.7% | 2 |
| Unemployment rate, non-farm | 7.6% | 9.4% | 23.7% | 3 |
| Unemployment rate, blacks | 12.6% | 15.8% | 25.4% | 3 |
| Number of Unemployed | 11,616,000 | 14,485,000 | 24.7% | 3 |
| Number of Federal Employees | 2,779,000 | 2,840,000 | 2.2% | 3 |
| Real Median Household Income | $50,112 | $49,777 | -0.7% | 4 |
| Food Stamp Recipients | 31,983,716 | 43,200,878 | 35.1% | 5 |
| Unemployment Recipients | 7,526,598 | 9,193,838 | 22.2% | 6 |
| Long-Term Unemployed | 2,600,000 | 6,400,000 | 146.2% | 3 |
| Poverty Rate, Individuals | 13.2% | 14.3% | 8.3% | 4 |
| U.S. Citizens in poverty | 39,800,000 | 43,600,000 | 9.5% | 4 |
| U.S. rank in Economic Freedom World Rankings | 5 | 9 | n/a | 10 |
| Present Situation Index | 29.9 | 23.5 | -21.4% | 11 |
| Failed Banks | 140 | 164 | 17.1% | 12 |
| USD vs. Yen | 89.76 | 82.03 | -8.6% | 2 |
| U.S. M1 money supply, in billions | 1575.1 | 1865.7 | 18.4% | 13 |
| U.S. M2 Money supply, in billions | 8310.9 | 8852.3 | 6.5% | 13 |
| National Debt, in trillions | $10.627 | $14.052 | 32.2% | 14 |
Just take the last item: In the last two years, we have accumulated national debt at a rate more than 27 times as fast as during the rest of our entire nation’s history. Over 27 times as fast. Metaphorically speaking, if you are driving on the expressway, driving at 65 miles per hour, and a car driving 27 times faster passes you, that car was doing 7,555 mph. (Crazy, huh?)
Sources: (1) U.S. Energy Information Administration; (2) Wall Street Journal ; (3) Bureau of Labor Statistics; (4) Census Bureau; (5) USDA; (6) U.S. Dept. Of Labor; (7) FHFA; (8) Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller; (9) RealtyTrac; (10) Heritage Foundation and WSJ; (11) The Conference Board; (12) FDIC; (13) Federal Reserve; (14) U.S. Treasury.
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