food, energy and medical care [take] a bigger chunk than since records began in 1960

Mar 24, 10:01 AM EDT | Into the economic abyss | By RACHEL BECK and ERIN McCLAM | Associated Press Writers
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Signs of the pinch are showing up everywhere:

-By the end of 2007, 36 percent of consumers' disposable income went to food, energy and medical care, a bigger chunk of income than at any time since records were first kept in 1960, according to Merrill Lynch.
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Nearly 9 million households now have upside-down mortgages, and for the first time ever, aggregate mortgage debt is bigger than the total value of homeowner equity - bigger by $836 billion, according to research by Merrill Lynch. ...