Life in "Progress" City

From the Most Miserable Cities in the country. Where you can't find a conservative with a Marlin Perkins Jacque Cousteau expedition team.

You know that your city has to be miserable when it even compares to Detroit on any scale. that's what Cleveland achieved this week...........

The city of Cleveland has had a colorful history. The Cuyahoga River, which runs through the city, famously caught fire in 1969 thanks to rampant pollution, and it wasn't the first time. In 1978 it became the first U.S. city to default on its debts since the Great Depression. Cleveland sports fans have had to endure more anguish than those in any other city. The city has been dubbed with a less than endearing nickname: the Mistake by the Lake.

This year Cleveland takes the top spot in our third annual ranking of America's Most Miserable Cities. Cleveland secured the position thanks to its high unemployment, high taxes, lousy weather, corruption by public officials and crummy sports teams (Cavaliers of the NBA excepted).

Misery was on the rise around the country last year. Sure the stock market was up big, but so were unemployment, foreclosures and bankruptcy filings. Meanwhile housing prices, the U.S. dollar and approval ratings for Congress continued their downward spiral.

The widely tracked Misery Index initiated by economist Arthur Okun, which combines unemployment and inflation rates started 2009 at 7.3 and rose to 12.7 by the end of the year thanks to soaring joblessness. That is the highest level since 1983.

Our Misery Measure takes into account unemployment, as well as eight other issues that cause people anguish. The metrics include taxes (both sales and income), commute times, violent crime and how its pro sports teams have fared over the past two years. We also factored in two indexes put together by Portland, Ore., researcher Bert Sperling that gauge weather and Superfund pollution sites. Lastly we considered corruption based on convictions of public officials in each area as tracked by the Public Integrity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Rounding out the top ten......

America's Top 10 Most Miserable Cities

1. Cleveland, Ohio

2. Stockton, Calif.

3. Memphis, Tenn.

4. Detroit, Mich.

5. Flint, Mich.

6. Miami, FL

7. St. Louis, MO

8. Buffalo, NY

9. Canton, OH

10. Chicago, IL

Coincidence that there hasn't been a conservative run these cities in decades, if ever? I don't think so.

It's also nice to see Ohio throw in five of the top twenty here. Governor Ted Taft is doing one whale of a job when you consider his overwhelming achievement is Ohio Lottery Keno.

Thanks reader Becky for the tip.

Read the article here..........