Charlotte Full Of Misery

Article By Writer Michael Kraft Author: Michael Kraft
Published: February 22, 2008
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“The economic indicator most often used to measure misery is the Misery Index. The index, created by economist Arthur Okun, adds the unemployment rate to the inflation rate. It has been in the narrow seven-to-nine range for most of the past decade, but peaked over 20 in 1980.

There also exists a Misery Score, which is the sum of corporate, personal, employer and sales taxes in different countries. France took the top spot (or perhaps bottom is more appropriate) with a score of 166.8 in 2007, thanks to a top tax rate of 51% on personal incomes and 45% for employer Social Security.”

“The biggest surprise on the list is Charlotte, N.C., which is ranked ninth. Charlotte has undergone tremendous economic growth the past decade, while the population has soared 32%. But the current picture isn’t as bright. Employment growth has not kept up with population growth, meaning unemployment rates are up more than 50% compared with 10 years ago. Charlotte scored in the bottom half of all six categories we examined and ranked 140th for violent crime.” From MSN News.

(I wonder how the population is growing so fast and unemployment is rising in the SANCTUARY CITY of Charlotte?)

Charlotte ninth in the misery index