Ever wonder just how many Americans are feeling economic insecurity? The newly-published Economic Security Index (or ESI), developed by a team at the Rockefeller Foundation, has come up with some startling facts: American economic insecurity has steadily increased since 1985, with approximately one in five Americans experiencing it in 2009. How is economic insecurity defined, you ask? It is when someone experiences the three risks: a major loss in income, large out-of-pocket medical expenses, and all without enough financial wealth to buffer the blows from the first two. Including 2009, the ESI has increased by almost half since 1985 -- which means that 46 million Americans felt it in 2007, up from 28 million in 1985.

Maybe Congress can take the one fifth of Americans into consideration the next time they squabble over stimulus spending or extending unemployment benefits.

To read the whole report, go here.