With manufacturing only a small part of overall employment (8%) and agriculture also limited (10%), our country is overly dependent on spending habits and ultimately consumer debt.  If we produced more goods domestically and exported more overseas then stagflation might not be as big a concern. However, as it stands now the stability of the entire machine rests on people's faith in the economy and their willingness to continue spending in the hopes that a return to normalcy is "right around the corner."  

In order to measure when our system will break, it's important to track the health of the average consumer as well as their concerns for the future.  Sadly, as soon as Americans stop spending and start saving, our economy goes down.  That is the way the system has been designed.