Argument

United States economy is healthy
United States economy is healthy: Desirability: Desirable; Importance: High; Volatility: High; Likelihood: Low; Confidence: High >>

Poverty in the USA is increasing >>

See corresponding sub-map
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Inflation is rising
In the USA, nflation is rising. >>

Personal Consumption Index, increased 0.8 percent
in the USA, the Personal Consumption Index, a measure of inflation, increased 0.8 percent in June. This is the strongest rise since 1981. >>

Consumer Price Index, grew five percent in a year
in the USA, the Consumer Price Index, a measure of inflation, grew five percent in a year. >>

The USA budget deficit will exceed $400 billion in 2008 and could approach $500 billion next year. -- According to forecasts published by the White House >>

The official debt of the United States is around $10 trillion dollars. >>

The US national debt is close to $100 trillion
"Add together the unfunded liabilities from Medicare and Social Security, and it comes to $99.2 trillion over the infinite horizon. Traditional Medicare composes about 69 percent, the new drug benefit roughly 17 percent and Social Security the remaining 14 percent." -- Richard W. Fisher, president of the Dallas Federal Reserve, in a speech at the Commonwealth Club of California >>

In the USA, unemployment increased >>

The unemployment rate hit a five-year high of 6.1 percent in the USA
August's 6.1 percent unemployment rate was up sharply from 5.7 percent in July and was the highest since September 2003. -- According to US Labor Department >>

New applications for unemployment insurance rose to a seasonally adjusted 444,000, up 15,000 from the previous week. -- According to US Labor Department >>

In the USA, many economists consider claims by newly-laid off workers seeking unemployment benefits above 400,000 to be a sign of a weak economy. >>

An unexpectedly steep 84,000 U.S. jobs were lost in the USA
Some 61,000 manufacturing jobs were lost, the most for any month since mid 2003, and 8,000 more construction jobs were cut. There were 53,000 jobs eliminated in professional and business services and 4,000 in leisure and hospitality industries. -- According to US Labor Department >>

Employers eliminated 377,325 jobs in the May to August period, the firm said, up from 249,197 in the summer of 2007. This is the highest level of job cuts in six years. -- According to job placement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas >>

USA productivity grew >>

In the USA, productivity climbed to an annual rate of 4.3% in the three months to June. -- According to the Commerce Department >>

In the USA, in the first three months of the year, productivity rose 2.6%. -- According to the Commerce Department >>

Productivity - the amount of output for every hour worked. >>

The US service sector grew in August, beating expectations. -- According to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) >>

In the USA, the ISM's non-manufacturing index registered 50.6 in August from 49.5 in July. -- According to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) >>

If the ISM's non-manufacturing index registers a figure above 50, it denotes growth. -- According to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) >>