Forbes List of 'America's 20 Most Miserable Cities': a Sad Commentary on the Times

Forbes is well-known for the way it ranks all sorts of things and then makes lists - they have released their annual list of "America's 20 Most Miserable Cities." The plight of many cities in California is highlighted by this list - 8 of the top 20 most miserable cities listed are in California, and the top city, Stockton, California, has ranked first for the second time in three years.

Forbes used 10 factors in the ranking process, using their own choice of sources for data:

unemployment over three years
tax rates (both sales and income)
commute times
violent crime
how its pro sports teams have fared over the past three years
the change in median home prices over three years
foreclosure rates in 2010
corruption based on convictions of public officials in each region
weather in each metro on factors relating to temperature, precipitation and humidity

The article: America's Most Miserable Cities
In Pictures: America's Most Miserable Cities

The ten factors used by Forbes in doing their ranking of the 20 most miserable cities in America include many that are directly related to the economy, some related to choices made by the governments of those cities and their respective states, and others that are not of the cities' own making, such as the weather.

Overall, the list can easily be seen as a sad commentary about the state of affairs in America. There can be little consolation for those Americans who do not reside in one of the twenty cities named by Forbes - what is happening in one part of the nation indirectly affects all of the citizens of the nation.

To get the country moving in the right direction, America needs a more robust economy which will be directly affected by job creation and a curtailment in governmental spending.

The Rasmussen daily poll report for 2/09/11 includes this paragraph:

"In 1954, the average new house cost just over $10,000, a new car was under $2,000, gasoline was less than 30 cents a gallon, and you could buy a magazine for 20 cents. That was also the last time that government spending in America declined from one year to the next. Only 60% recognize that government spending has increased every year since Eisenhower's first term in office. Eight-out-of-ten Americans alive today have never lived through a year when government spending declined."

Let's all hope that the 2011 legislative branch of our government is up to the task of steering America in the right direction - our future depends on it.

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Sources:
Personal opinion of the writer
http://www.forbes.com/
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/