U.S. Economic Indicators
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Nutritional Poverty in Land of Plenty
by Michael J. Hicks
In the United States today, expenditures on food account for less than 10 percent of income.
Like many Americans, this week will offer me the opportunity for a feast. Because my family is in different states we’ll get to have at least two Thanksgiving meals on different days. I especially like this because there is a hint of culinary competition from which my palate benefits enormously. The situation demands I try every dish. Those gastronomic pitfalls will be compounded by a church brunch (we Methodists are known for our faith and casseroles). The opportunity for this excess set me to thinking about what we spend on foodstuffs and how this compares to our forebears.
The notion of a feast is present in all cultures. The chance for a truly special meal, abundant in quantity and selection appears in sacred writings of all religions of which I know and in every nation I have been. I wonder though now, in our world of plenty, whether it might be getting a bit too easy for us to forget the root of want that made the feast so important.
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2009 Manufacturing and Logistics
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The 2009 Manufacturing and Logistics Report Card grades states in
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Data Releases
U.S. Gross Domestic Product, Third Quarter 2009
Real gross
domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor
and property located in the United States -- increased at an annual rate
of 2.8 percent in the third quarter of 2009, (that is, from the second
quarter to the third quarter). In the second quarter, real GDP decreased
0.7 percent.
U.S. Consumer Confidence
Index, October 2009
The Consumer
Confidence Index, which had declined in October, increased slightly in
November. The Index now stands at 49.5 (1985=100), up from 48.7 in
October. The Present Situation Index was virtually unchanged at 21.0
versus 21.1 last month. The Expectations Index increased to 68.5 from
67.0 in October.
Indiana Building Permits, October 2009
U.S. Durable Goods Orders,
October 2009
New orders for
manufactured durable goods in October decreased $1.0 billion or 0.6
percent to $166.2 billion. This was the second monthly decrease in the
last three months. This followed a 2.0 percent September increase.
Excluding transportation, new orders decreased 1.3 percent. Excluding
defense, new orders increased 0.4 percent. Machinery, down following two
consecutive monthly increases, had the largest decrease, $1.9 billion or
8.0 percent to $21.8 billion.
U.S. Personal Income,
October 2009
Personal
income increased $30.1 billion, or 0.2 percent, and disposable personal
income (DPI) increased $45.7 billion, or 0.4 percent, in October.
Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $68.3 billion, or 0.7
percent. In September, personal income increased $20.7 billion, or 0.2
percent, DPI increased $21.3 billion, or 0.2 percent, and PCE decreased
$60.3 billion, or 0.6 percent, based on revised estimates. Real
disposable income increased 0.2 percent in October, compared with an
increase of 0.1percent in September. Real PCE increased 0.4
percent, in contrast to a decrease of 0.7 percent.
U.S. New Home Sales, October
2009
Sales of new
one-family houses in October 2009 were at a seasonally adjusted annual
rate of 430,000. This is 6.2 percent above the revised September rate of
405,000 and is 5.1 percent above the October 2008 estimate of 409,000.
The median sales price of new houses sold in October 2009 was $212,200;
the average sales price was $261,100. The seasonally adjusted estimate
of new houses for sale at the end of October was 239,000. This
represents a supply of 6.7 months at the current sales rate.