Maybe Things Aren't So Bad -- Not About The Bakken Directly

Updates

Later, 7:45 p.m.: Wow, wow, wow! Look at the map that goes with the story below. And look at that North Dakota to Texas Renaissance Corridor. 

Original Post

Link here.

U.S. households' financial health moved up to 69.9 last quarter from 67.6 in the final quarter of 2011, as measured on the 100-point scale of the Consumer Distress Index from nonprofit credit counseling agency CredAbility. While 69.9 may be the largest improvement in the last seven years, it is still well below the mid-80s readings that the nation saw through the mid- and late-1990s. The index takes into account a wide variety of data in the areas of employment, housing, credit, household budget, and net worth.

That economic well-being varies widely by geography. Only the Dakotas landed in the "Good/Stable" category (80-89.9 index points), with scores of 80.2 for South Dakota and 84 for North Dakota. Nevada and Georgia landed at the bottom of the ranking, with scores of 61.7 and 64, respectively. That puts them in the group of "Distressed/Unstable" states--that is, states with scores between 60 and 69.9, a category that includes 23 states. The remaining 25 states and the District of Columbia are classified as "Weakening/At-Risk' with scores between 70 and 79.9.

I'm not sure why they listed North Dakota first but that's just my sensitivity.

So, if during the campaign season, the incumbent asks if we are better off than we were four years ago, I guess it's a resounding "yes."