Our Economy By the Numbers

From Ruth S. King comes a chart which all of us should read and absorb, sobering though it may be:

January                                              2009               Today               % change                           Source
Avg. retail price/gallon gas in U.S.        $1.83                $3.104            69.6%                                     1
Crude oil, European Brent (barrel)          $43.48              $99.02            127.7%                                   2
Crude oil, West TX Inter. (barrel)           $38.74              $91.38             135.9%                                  2
Gold: London (per troy oz.)                    $853.25            $1,369.            50 60.5%                               2
Corn, No.2 yellow, Central IL                  $3.56                $6.33               78.1%                                   2
Soybeans, No. 1 yellow, IL                      $9.66                $13.75             42.3%                                   2
Sugar, cane, raw, world, lb. fob              $13.37              $35.39             164.7%                                 2
Unemployment rate, non-farm, overall     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 fed. employees, ex. military (curr = 12/10 prelim)
                                                             2,779,000          2,840,000        2.2%                                    3
Real median household income (2008 v 2009)
                                                          $50,112             $49,777              -0.7%                                   4
Number of food stamp recipients (curr = 10/10)
                                                          31,983,716         43,200,878        35.1%                                    5
Number of unemployment benefit recipients (curr = 12/10)
                                                          7,526,598           9,193,838           22.2%                                   6
Number of long-term unemployed      2,600,000           6,400,000           146.2%                                    3
Poverty rate, individuals (2008 v 2009)
                                                         13.2%                 14.3%                  8.3%                                      4
People in poverty in U.S. (2008 v 2009)     
                                                        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 (curr = 12/10)
                                                      29.9                         23.5                   -21.4%                              11 
Failed banks (curr = 2010 + 2011 to date)
                                                     140                            164                      17.1%                               12
U.S. dollar versus Japanese yen exchange rate
                                                      89.76                        82.03                  -8.6%                                 2
U.S. money supply, M1, in billions (curr = 12/10 prelim) 
                                                      1,575.1                    1,865.7                18.4%                               13
U.S. money supply, M2, in billions (curr = 12/10 prelim)
                                                      8,310.9                   8,852.3 6.                5%                                 13
National debt, in trillions                 $10.627                 $14.052                     32.2%                            14 

Just take this 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.

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