Are you better off now than you were when Obama assumed office in January of 200

1. 70

   The Frog Princeposted 12 years ago

   Are you better off now than you were when Obama assumed office in January of 2009?
   
   This weekend I watched the news shows and not one Obama surrogate gave a straight answer.  So now I ask you since the past 4 years has taken its toll on you.
   
   

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2. 91

   peeplesposted 12 years ago

   No. Not at all. However this has ZERO to do with who is our president. It has to do with the choices we make in life. I never have understood why anyone really believes that a president has the power to really make our lives better. Influence minor outcomes? Of course! Control how well our lives are? Not really! I'm not a supporter of the current president or the GOP nominee though.

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   1. 70

      The Frog Princeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Zero?  Really?  Then why do Obamazoids, including Obama himself, keep blaming everything on Bush?  I don't expect you to answer but do think about it.

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   2. 91

      peeplesposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Oh I agree completly. A colapse this size doesn't happen in 8, 10, or even 15 years. It happens over many years of small bad choices adding up throughout government. This is why we need less not more in the government department.

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   3. 73

      tsadjatkoposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Really?  for some, yeah it's your fault if you make decisions that screw up your life. Can't blame the president for that, but the question is not what you've done but what has he done to make your life better off - the answer is nothing.

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   4. 91

      peeplesposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      In my opinion this is the downfall of our country. None of us should expect the government to make our lives better outside of making our country safe.

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   5. 0

      Hxprofposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Peeples, I agree with you.  The mess we have now has been years in the making, both Democrat and Republican.  And yes, the one thing we should expect our government to do is protect the country; I give the US government a grade of D in this.

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3. 54

   poetvixposted 12 years ago

   No.  Not in any way imaginable am I better off.  I make a few dollars more, but bring home less.  What less I bring home now doesn't buy as much.  I'm paying more for less.  My house is worth less now than it was then even though it has a new roof and AC system.  My property taxes have gone up every year.  The children I work with are finding it harder and harder to get the medical care they have to have to survive with more and more doctors leaving the profession and/or no longer taking Medicare/Medicaid, whichever one it is.  The support networks I help them and their families access within the community are dwindling at an alarming rate.  I'm seeing more and more out of business signs on my daily commute.  I'm seeing homeless families where i have never seen them before.  I'm talking families with children in small town USA.  Let that sink in.  I'm seeing the nation I love being ripped apart by a planned and strategic attack waged through the media to keep us all divided.  I'm seeing hatred rise.  I'm seeing the debt rise.  I'm seeing our global standing plummet.  I'm seeing bad everywhere.  The only ones better off now are the ones profiting off the suffering of all of the rest of us.

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   1. 70

      The Frog Princeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Joe Biden was just on TV with this statement from Detroit.  His answer to the crowd, " Damn right we are.  Osama bin Laden is dead and General Morotrs is alive."  If that is his measure of well being we're screwed.

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   2. 54

      poetvixposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      You would think he would give it a rest.  They act like GM is some major huge chunk of employment.  Various companies sink and others swim.  It's the nature of capitalism.  All they did was throw good money after bad and now want to sing about it.

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4. 83

   Hyphenbirdposted 12 years ago

   In one way, yes. My mortgage is being paid through the Hardest Hit fund for 18 months. In all other ways, no. I would not need the mortgage plan if I was working and bringing home a decent income. Food is higher, utilities are higher, gas is higher, etc. so that makes other areas of life more difficult.

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5. 72

   lburmasterposted 12 years ago

   Nope. Same job, same paycheck, same savings, etc. More bills, more people bothering me with their unhappiness, etc. I'm looking to get a new job next year and hope it gets better then.

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6. 87

   Jackie Lynnleyposted 12 years ago

   Same money but everything price wise going through the roof of course. Gas prices make travel too expensive and yet they drop those prices during holidays and certain times to get me to spend more of my money but I for one am not stupid. It doesn't look to be getting better. I have little hope of that.

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7. 66

   Amy Bechererposted 12 years ago

   Until May 20, 2010, I have always held a good paying job.  But, that day, after I had just finalized a divorce, found an apt closer to the workplace and signed a lease, I was laid off.  Job growth in St. Louis is stagnant and I remain unemployed.  During this time, I collected from the unemployment insurance I had paid into every week of my working life.  Then, Obama initiated emergency extended unemployment since the numbers of unemployed remained high and the availability of jobs remained low.  Within a month, the job numbers were manipulated to rise above the rate that qualified MO for the extension and it was taken back.  Since the extension was reneged, the job numbers go up and down according to who is relaying them, which I believe is all part of the 2012 election campaign. 
   
   I am too young to collect early social security and do not qualify for food stamps, as I own a car.  I no longer have health insurance, though I have autoimmune disease, as I cannot afford $550/month.  I am helping my 85-year old mother, as her health is failing now, for what little I now earn.  When my beloved Scottish Terrier was ill, I went without groceries in order to afford his medical care.
   
   Though I am relentlessly frugal, even when I was working, I must now find a cheaper place to live.  This will most likely be in a poor, dangerous part of St. Louis City, where rent is far less.
   
   After spending a lifetime working with due diligence, as an excellent, reliable and industrious employee throughout the years, I will spend the rest of my life struggling near destitution. This is strictly fact.  Never having been poor, I now realize that once you lose most of what you have worked to achieve, so close to retirement age, there is no way to rebuild to that former standard of living.  So, I have learned to expect nothing.  I am on my own to sink or swim.  I no longer trust the government nor any politician.  I have come to understand that our banking system, healthcare and government are intrinsically tied together, and are not ruled by a fair ideology for the people, but rather, money and, thereby, corruption. I trust myself, period.

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   1. 73

      tsadjatkoposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Wait a minute, how can anyone say they are not better off now...after all they are selling this at the DNC convention.  http://www.wnd.com/files/2012/09/120903heavensent.jpg  that seems to suggest God so loved the world, He sent us … Barack Obama.

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   2. 60

      KK Trainorposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I'm so sorry you find yourself in that situation. Hope there is help out there, maybe a church or other organization that can help. There are kind people in the world, sometimes they are hard to find.  Hope things get better for you soon.

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   3. 66

      Amy Bechererposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for your kindess, KK.  One thing positive as a result of the turn of events that impacted me, along with many others, is I grew up.  There is no real help, other than what I can do for myself.  I never give up.  Hope springs eternal.

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8. 59

   duffsmomposted 12 years ago

   Much worse off.  Our pay is down, all utilities are up, groceries are up, fuel up -but I doubt I can blame Obama - it is a very complex problem.

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9. 60

   melbelleposted 12 years ago

   Definitely not.  In fact, I would say I am worse off than I was 4 years ago.

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10. 84

    Becky Katzposted 12 years ago

    Four years ago, I had a job, two vehicles and we were buying a house. Now I have no job, no vehicle, and renting an apartment for more than I was paying for house payment. The apartment complex is so loud that it drives us nuts and my husbands Dr. told him that he needs to move but without a vehicle, which we can't afford another, we can't get out to find another place. But this is what I could find. I still have my disabled husband and his VA disability but the SS that I was getting paid for our daughter ends in Jan. on her 16th birthday. Since when do 16 year olds get cheaper to raise than a 15 year old?

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11. 57

    halfcordposted 12 years ago

    If Oblame-o asked me this question I "bitch-slap" his dumb ass and walk away!
    Nuff said?

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12. 0

    Ghost32posted 12 years ago

    Curiously, I'd have to say I am better off--but in SPITE of Obama's Presidency, NOT because of it.
    
    To clarify:  My $80,000 per year trucking job in Colorado went ka-poof in early 2009.  We bailed to Arizona to live on bare land (land payment less than house payment) but lost 35 acres in eastern Colorado on which we'd planned to retire AND lost our Colorado house to foreclousure.
    
    The ONLY reason we're better off now is because some literally worthless mineral rights in North Dakota that had been in my father's side of the family at least as far back as 1912...suddenly became worth something (due to U.S. shale oil recovery technology only recently developed).  The royalties from that got us enough money that I could build us a home--IF I did ALL the work myself and got a bit creative, which I did.  (Though yes, many of the materials cost more than they should have.)
    
    BUT Obama has already tried to shut down the North Dakota oil play at least once.  Most don't know about that, by I have contacts in the oil industry there.  His back-door maneuvering was uncovered by a whistle-blower, and he backed off...for now. 
    
    If he should end up getting a second term, there's zero doubt in my mind he'll try again.

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13. 53

    bobspunkinposted 12 years ago

    Absolutely not! Gas is more expensive, groceries are way more expensive. What I paid for groceries 2 years ago now costs at least a third more. More and more of our freedoms have been curtailed. We have now become a police state where all manner of agencies watch us. I hate to even think what Ocare is going to do to us!

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