US Families Has Been Broke Down, Tore Down, Beat Down, Busted By This Economy

04-16-2011 • BlackListedNews.com/

The average American family is under more economic stress right now than at any other time since the Great Depression. Just check out the following statistics…. #1 Only 45.4% of Americans had a job during 2010. The last time the employment level was that low was back in 1983. #2 Only 66.8% of American men had a job last year. That was the lowest level that has ever been recorded in U.S. history. #3 In the United States, one-fourth of all the income is brought in by 1 percentof the people. #4 Rising prices are putting an incredible amount of stress on American family budgets. According to John Williams of Shadow Government Statistics, if the U.S. government measured inflation the way that it did before 1980 the inflation rate would be much different. For example, Williams says that inflation rose at a 9.6 annual rate during the month of February using the old measurement. #5 In a recent survey conducted by Deloitte Consulting, 74 percent of Americans said that they planned to slow down their spending in coming months due to rising prices. #6 The price of U.S. crude oil has risen $20 a barrel over the last two months, and the average price of a gallon of gasoline in America is now about $3.79. At this point, the average price of gasoline is about one dollar higher than it was one year ago. Since the average American household goes through about 750 gallons of gas a year, that means that in 2011 American families will spend somewhere around $750 more for gas. So just what is the average American family supposed to do if a gallon of gasoline soon costs 4 or even 5 dollars a gallon? #7 The average American now spends approximately 23 percent of his or her income on food and gas. #8 Incredibly, 60 percent of all the students attending California public schools now qualify for free or reduced-price school lunches.