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

Well I'm about to graduate from college now and I wasn't nearly graduating from college before. So that's a plus. I'm still in the same bad emotional state though. But since that's one thing better and one thing the same, that comes out to overall better.

Better, job is better, live in a better area, moving forward.

Oh yeah! I'm divorced now too, another "better".

Four years ago, my husband had a job.
Four years ago, my son had a job.
Four years ago my oldest kids were in college and had hope for the future.
Now my husband has been unemployed for two years. His contacts have dried up, He doesn't get unemployment because sales reps don't even though they pay self employment taxes. Nobody wants anyone over 50. He's involuntarily and prematurely retired.
My son can't find full time work. Nobody is hiring.He's been to every store in three local malls. Nobody has any jobs open.
My oldest son with a college degree is managing a fastfood store. There are no jobs.
My daughter, with a college degree is working 60 hour weeks for what works out to less than eight bucks an hour once all the hours are compiled. There are no other jobs out there.
I work as a teacher. Thanks to Obamacare my health insurance is going up AGAIN this year. So we are dropping dental and vision. Next year we will probably have to drop all insurance.
The cost of food and services goes up with the rise and fall of gas. Did you ever notice that although the cost drops, it never quite gets back to the original price. Four years ago gas was under $2.00 a gallon, now it's closer to $4.00.
We cannot AFFORD to have this president and his czars and his corrupt department heads and his crony recipients of stimulus money and his ACORN, union and ethnocentric patchwork quilt of handouts.

I thought the republicans were the ones that wanted to curtail unmeployment benefits>?

Yeah, but considering that my husband paid twice as much in payroll deduction taxes, it would be nice to get something back. Not for 99 months perhaps, but it sure would help.

since you blocked me (i don't know why since I wasn't rude) I will tell you that I feel for businesses. But personally I think employers shouldn't be involed in h/c at all. I think h/c should be bought privately just like car insurance. I'm disappointed in you that you would block me when I wasn't rude.

I love the answers from Republicans on this poll, proving once again that they're slaves to Big Government and unable to take personal responsibility for their lives.

Hey idiot, pretend this is nothing important, but we were the people who paid our bills, who made this economy run. You do nothing. But down the road you will end up where we are. Just wait, because Obama and his gang will break you too.

There you go again, shirking your personal responsibilities onto Big Government. Try taking responsibility for your life instead of sucking at the government teet.

Hey asswipe, I pay my bills, I don't take any sort of government funding. How many student loans are YOU paying off if you haven't deferred them for some inane reason or shirked them entirely. And what pray tell are my responsibilities to Big Government? I pay my taxes, I do my job, I pay my bills. What the hell more am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to pay for folks like you who want government to pay for education for healthcare, for every single thing from birth to death? Excuse me if I tell you to go to hell. Oh and yes, I am bloccking you because my blood pressure is arleady high and I cant' afford the damned medicine because failure of tort reform has made it where it's out of reach for average folks but since I make too much to be considered poor, I get no help. Go to hell. And take your family, your friends and your ideology with you.

face it: you want it both ways.

exactly! They don't want government... until they lose their jobs.

I'm not even saying that they want that. They blame the government for all of their problems. It's placing the blame for their own poor decisions on the government. How is that any different from asking the government to give them a job?

I think it's a problem when the government decides to make bad decisions with our money and we foot the bill and the blame

There you go again, looking to government to take responsibility for your mistakes.

Please enlighten me on to how I and I alone caused the financial meltdown

You're still using the same collectivist mindset. Try taking responsibility for your own choices and allow others to do the same.

So basically what your saying is you don't have an answer for me as to why I am to blame good But to play along a little bit yea I do take responsiblity I budget my money have a second job to help myself out pay my bills mostly on time i don't live beyond my means so if that's not being reaponiblity please tell me specifically what is

In America, we are self-governed. The country is in a terrible mess. Why did you let it get so out of hand?

I didn't let it get out of hand I'm only 23 I didn't vote for half the people in office for I was too young but when I did vote it wasn't for Obama

So tell me do you take the blame for any of this... I bet I can guess your answer

Good guess!

I still see you refusing to take responsibility for your choices.

And I once again see you cannot answer a simple question so I can only surmise you are to blame for all this and like your master Obama you simply pass the blame

That's a typical libtard response. You probably copied it directly from either the Communist Manifesto or Rules For Radicals. Your Obamessiah has you well trained.

How does this have anything to do with Obama you are accusing republicans of not taking reaponaiblities

So I can now conclude you are indeed a troll

Now you expect me to believe that there's a difference between a socialist who calls himself a Republican and a socialist who calls himself a Democrat?????? Is that all state-slavery is to you? A word???

Keep it coherent troll

Actually, though I make less than I did last year (same job/same expectations, pay cut), I'm better off than I was 4 years ago. Four years ago, I was still married to a man who spent what I earned in part, to pay for his affairs. Divorce means I'm definitely better off, and though I don't have his small income (I was the primary wage earner in the family), I also don't have his spending. I'm better off, and it has nothing to do with a democratic president or a republican congress!

Oh yeah! I'm divorced now too, another "better".

Much better personally and the area is better, too. The oil field is booming. There is plenty of work for those that want to work, with less than 3% unemployment. It won't last, never does, but is good while it's does.

My business was doing great in 08. Today we are almost out of business. I give it a few more months at most.

100's of thousands worse.

I was making more than twice as much money and paying half as much for gas in 2008.

Doing much better than I was 4 years ago, but it has nothing to do with our Presidents. It has to do with making some radical and strategic choices right before the 07-08 crash happened. We had a choice to make, either pay off our debt, or invest in a home. We chose to pay off our debt, because we were worried that the home market was crashing.
Last year we bought a firesale home for a bargain, but more importantly, have remained debt free since 07. That has made all the difference in the world.

Good job man!

I was living with my aunt in West Orange NJ, working at the Library and attending college in NY. Four years later; I have my own place and a better paying job.

I lost my job back in 2007 because conservative types thought it best to down size the district I was working in. I got hired right after Obama got elected for a temp job and as of last year I've found permanent employment.

Thanks to Obama, I'm not living on the streets.

4 years ago I was working as a breakfast cook at a resort. Now I run my own business and am making nearly ten times as much. There are other reasons why I'm better off as well that have nothing to do with the economy, such as the fact I've been reunited with the love of my life. All in all and for many reasons I'm WAY better off now than I was 4 years ago.

Taxes went up .. Finances took a hit ..
Business is just sticking things out ..
and all the costs increases (for medical care -- thanks to that abominable law) is definitely pinching the budget too ..