Just one month to Armageddon

How bad are finances of the average American? According to a new study by MetLife, half of Americans now say they are only one month or less away from not being able to meet their financial obligations if they were to lose their job — just two paychecks or less. Of these, more than half , 28 percent of all Americans, say they could not survive financially for more than two weeks without their current job.

It is easy to understand, given these figures, that our economy is on the brink of catastrophe. This lack of financial buffer has no historical precedence in our nation.

Bloomberg reports in a survey released Tuesday morning that economists now expect unemployment levels in the U.S. to reach 9.4 percent this year alone, and remain elevated through at least 2011 — prospects that paint a potentially grim picture for the U.S. economy in general, and for housing in particular. Traditionally, borrower defaults are driven by macro-economic factors such as increased rates of unemployment.

It appears, for many Americans, it is just one month to Armageddon.