Are you better off today than you were 4 years ago?

It worked for Reagan, famously well.

I don't understand why Kerry doesn't bring that back. How many people can honestly say that either their own personal situation, America's situation, or the world situation is actually better now than 4 years ago?

The stock market is down, unemployment is up, the budget surplus is gone and massive deficits have returned, 2000 Americans died when we were taken by surprise in the biggest intelligence failure since Pearl Harbor, we've started 2 wars which have no foreseeable endpoint, our border and port security still sucks, government spending has gone up faster under Bush than under any President since LBJ, fewer people have healthcare, inflation is back, state budgets are in ruins, education funding is being slashed, high tech jobs are being outsourced, the rich are richer, the poor are poorer, and most of the world now hates us.

Unless 51% of the nation is drooling idiots, this should be a cakewalk.

Of course, it was from going on disability.

yeah, I think Kerry should bring that up at the debate, if there is a debate.

I'm not much worse in all honesty, maybe slightly better material wise, but I had to drop out of school, due to Pell grant and student loan cuts. Tuition raises too. Most of what I have accumulated in terms of my personal possessions and my first college degree was due to Clinton's investment in Higher Ed. If it was up to Bush, I'd be serving Jenna and Barbara fries for the rest of my life. Or stripping for them at some bar or something. :)

But ask a Fortune 500 CEO.....

But I'll shut up now.

But I don't count, I was 20, 4 years ago.

WHO'S better off?

Corporations sure are.

but I know plenty of people who aren't. I just happened to get very, very lucky and find an incredible job in the private sector that paid me more than double what I was making in government. But I'll shut up now too. . . I know that I'm in the very, very, very small minority.

but it's not due to any policy of the Bush mis-administration. It's due to my own hard work. That, and I'm damned, damned lucky. That's why I don't play the lottery. I used up all my luck landing the great job I have and by staying healthy.

how dare you say that YOU actually had something to do with your circumstances!!

lunatic, when i see how dumb this fucking country and pacified this shit land is.

yes. the money flows directly to texas. bless their holy hearts.

Income down 50%,



But I am coming to understand the scope of suffering and to take steps to find ways to reduce it. I am finding that humanity requires compassion and loving kindness to all. And to effect change through exposing the crimes that extremists both right and left (but mostly right ;) ) cause in society....

All things being equal, I would say no. I am down $5000/year in income from 3 years ago, and have had to plow money into cash savings instead of investments in order to stay liquid.

On the other hand, we finally gave up on waiting for Corporate America. We started two businesses, one of which is taking off and will likely give us a gain this year of $30-40k pretax.

We are still working our regular jobs, but if things keep going with our businesses...bye bye employers...

I think this is the way to go for the future. Find something you love to do, make trades for service wherever possible to cover the startup costs, and move forward.

JM

Wish I could think of one to start.

... property taxes have sky-rocketed; auto, home, and health insurance & co-pay costs are more than ever; home heating and utility charges have gone up; groceries and clothing prices have increased; only thing that has gone down is income.

yes, but now thanks to Emperor Sock-Puppet, in fact DESPITE his best efforts to make the world safe for Giant Multi-National Corporations, my job hasn't been outsourced (yet). OF course the corporate fascists have depressed the job market so I have far fewer options (none really). In every other measure, like the rest of the entire world I'm much worse off. The world is less safe thanks to Bush's ignorant bumbling, the Corporations have much more power than they did and the fundies are gaining ground.

plus other assets. I figure I am down about half a mil.

That's a lot of scratch.

but laid off 3 times since the coup. No jobs here.

Now trying to get my own business running, but still making $0.

Liquidated IRA's and other investments to start the business and to keep the family from moving into a refrigerator carton.

It's not that much. I'm an old fart.

I am making a lot more money than I was 4 years ago, but that is due to my hard work. My husband is making less due to cut backs.

I would gladly make less money if the environment was protected, we had our civil rights back, our troops were not dieing & killing in Iraq, the rest of the world were not understandably disgusted with our "leaders" and all members of the bush administration were all in jail where they belong.

Money is not the only way I judge how things are. In every other way I am absolutely not better off than I was four years ago.

...and I'm guilty as charged. See? We automatically assign a material connotation to "better off." How venal of us.

Thank you for reminding me of what's really important.

though i make less money, i have more to spend.

mostly because i've hit rock bottom, or close to it, hand have been living slightly smarter than i did before. no thanks to * though.

since 2000, i've been laid off for the first time ever, plant closed. i guess i can thank * for that.

i learned that 401k is a big waste.

i have sworn off credit of any kind, its kind of a pain to have to call and get a total, and send a money order for some things, but it beats the hell out of paying interest! even the occasional C.O.D. charge is cheaper than a typical months worth of credit card interest.

sadly i'm becoming a "prole". after being laid off, and not working for a year and a half, and having that time to enjoy my free time, as well as become aware of post 9/11 politics, when i finally got a job in the same field, but a very easy entry level type position, though it only pays slightly less than i made before, its brainless work, unlike the stress and hard days i put in before trying to make a differance for the company, i love it! its TOO easy! and i bring home more money by not throwing it into 401k. etc.

part of the swearing off credit, is no new cars too, fine with me, i am very much into old cars, hot rods etc. the money normally wasted on a car payment for a car that depreciates is now spent on old cars that appreciate in value. more fun too!

i am living better tahn i was a few years ago, though i fell guilty about it at the same time, i am allowing myself a few luxuries now, because i couldn't have them before, when i should be using that extra money to prepare for leaving the country after * steals another term.

I could be better off if I could ignore the horrors that are being perpetrated every day by this administration. Unfortunately, I have been having a hard time thinking that any job that I could get would be important enough to take my mind off of the horrors.

I don't want to contribute my taxes to paying for torturing Arabs. If I work, I pay taxes...I'm trying to get over this.

Four years ago I had just cut loose this giant hookworm of death that had attached itself to me and spent two years trying to ruin me. It nearly did. So, yeah, I'm better off, but it has nothing to do with the Badministration. I'm sure I'd be even better off if Gore had taken office.

My REAL income has fallen, since we don't get annual COLA raises, only "merit" increases. and those don't keep pace with inflation.

Gasoline has gone up.
Food has gone up.
Natural gas has gone up.
Local phone service ("POTS") has gone up $10 in 4 years-I found an old bill the other day!
Water, Sewer, Electricity, all gone up.
Cable TeeVee, so expensive for Pure Shit that I don't have it.
Health care co-pays have gone up.
Office visit to the Dentist (i have no dental coverage) has gone up.
My rent hasn't increased in 5 years (thank goodnness!)
My car insurance went DOWN $12 a year!

My SO is so stressed out we haven't fucked in over a year.

Yeah, I'm really better off than I was 4 years ago....

How're yours hangin'?

Due mostly to my own hard work, and I am taking advantage of the low interest rates to buy a home.

Is my country better off? No way.

Is my state better off? No way.

I'm making more money than than 4 years ago. My wife and I sold a house which appreciated pretty well. We bought 20 acres and built a new house. We moved from the Central Coast of CA to the lower Sierra Nevada Mtns. People told us that we would have to take less money but that didn't happen.

I think the reason we are better off is because we both have skills that are needed and that are scarce here. My wife and I are more willing to take risks to get what we want than most people in our family. For that we are not real popular. We both quit our jobs, sold our house moved, bought land, built a new house and found new jobs. Bush didn't help or hurt us I would say.

His company has lost over 50% of its automotive work, which has been replaced with protyping for defense. Sigh... So I send as much of the overtime as we can afford to the Democratic Party. To bring back the automotive work.

Went from a combined household income around 95k to about 38k. Had to close my business and take a job 90 miles from home. Yep,everything is just coming up fucking roses.

Actually, I don't fault the boy king and his court as much as I do the maladministration of our ex repuke Governor, the dishonorable and disastrous Frank Keating. He tore the ass completely off the middle class in Oklahoma while he was in office.

After exactly 4 years of struggling, my wife and I are fortunate enough to have good jobs. However, the big Dubya tax cut was a joke as I've paid every year since he initiated it.

Four years ago I had the best paying job of my life working with people I truly loved. I was nightly making love to a beautiful young woman half my age. I spent my weekends (she and I) seeing a part of the world that I was not native to (Pacific Northwest), going camping, eating in nice restaurants, etc. Life was so good four years ago. About the time Bush took power, I lost it all. Things haven't been even good, let alone THAT good, since. The man's gotta go.

Thanks to the poor economy I haven't had a raise in three years!!! My cost of living to support Bush's poor decision making still is going up though. And all the freepers can say is that Clinton had caused the unsustainable economic growth. Whatever, freepers run the economy into the ground. In my years on this Earth only the Carter democratic administration had a bad time with the economy but there were many factors that he couldn't control and Reagan and father Bush just made it worse.

I love the fact that I have to work the street again after 10 years because there are no construction jobs. I love not being able to take my family on vacation again because unemployment sucks. I love the fact that I may not be able to re-new my Eagles season ticket because food is more important. Oh yeah, without a doubt, waaaay better off.

I'm out of work and my spouse is out of work. We have no health insurance or retirement expectations. Things are looking good! Oh I forgot to mention, my unemployment will run out in a few weeks. I think I have two more checks coming. For technical reasons my wife is not qualified for unemployment.

On edit:

Things have never been better! :-)