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Are YOU better or worse off today than 7 1/2 years ago?

Has YOUR or your family's lives gotten better or worse since Obama was elected?

  • Better

    Votes: 41 39.4%
  • Worse

    Votes: 14 13.5%
  • Better but I think its because of circumstances that were not a consequence of White House policies

    Votes: 26 25.0%
  • Worse but I think its because of circumstances that were not a consequence of White House policies

    Votes: 3 2.9%
  • Its been a mixed bag

    Votes: 12 11.5%
  • other

    Votes: 8 7.7%

  • Total voters
    104

Smeagol

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As we approach the end of the Obama White House years, I'm wondering how his time in office has impacted YOUR life.

In my humble opinion, the conservative media is expert is creating high emotional negative imagery of their opponents. I personally think they're so good at it, they're able to do so despite the fact their own lives are either not adversely affected or even better off thanks to the very opposition they have been conditioned to despise. Example: The people I know who are screaming the loudest about Obamacare already had employer-based group health insurance, were not being forced to buy something they didn't want and are in fact happy that their young adult kids get to stay on their policies until they get jobs that offer health insurance. They're happy the interest rates on their outstanding credit card balance can't be increased.

I've also seen loyalty for the liberal team take priority over their own concerns that if it were not for the fact that liberal policies were being advanced by the people for whom they vote. Example: I have liberal relatives with daughters, nieces and granddaughters who would have gone ballistic at the notion of teenage boys and adult male teachers being able to legally enter the girls shower areas and dressing rooms at schools while female students are undressed but since they choose to be loyal supporters of their political team, they talk themselves into thinking its okay.

Let's set aside team loyalty for this question. Has your own life or the life of your family gotten better or worse over the past 7 1/2 years and feel free to offer an explanation?
 
My life has gotten better over the last seven and a half years. But it isn't because of President Obama. The truth is that it is in spite of President Obama. He promised us that if we made less than 250k a year our taxes wouldn't go up one dime. That turned out not to be true. The ACA cut the FSA amount to $2550 no matter what earned, how many in your family, etc. Taxes got added to "Cadillac" healthcare plans provided by employers. These things hit me in the wallet. They weren't substantial hits but they were hits, none-the-less.

Truthfully, everyone should be able to say that they are doing better 7 or 10 years down the road. If you aren't then it is your fault not the current President. We have to continue to work to improve ourselves not just expect the government to make everything better. Are you making the income you want to make? If not, then you need to work harder. Improve your skills. Take some college. Become more valuable to your employer.
 
Since I was laid off in the Great Bush Recession of 2008 things have gotten better. Was able to find another job quickly and keep the years severance I earned for 18 years of service. My wife continued in her job and prospered so we are doing well even if I don't make as much as I once did.
 
Better off, due to a mixture of both occupational advancement that had nothing to do with the President and financial gains that can quite arguably be traced back to policies that he advanced during his first years in office.
 
The biggest thing that improved my life was a decision that I made. Not the government, not my employer. When I decided to live debt free it changed my life for the better. Nothing has been more rewarding than that move. Sure my vehicles are a 2003 Lincoln Navigator and a 2011 Toyota Prius. I often drive by the car lot and think about how much I'd love to have a newer, shinier model, but I said never again, on debt.
 
Since your starting point is the depths of a severe recession, it will be difficult to find someone whose circumstances have not improved. A better starting point might be 2010 or 2012.
 
I am doing better financially but not due to any Obama policy. Our household (myself and my girlfriend) income went up mostly due to both of us getting our Social Security retirement benefits and my self employment (handyman) income went up a bit as well.
 
My life has improved over the last 7.5 years, but not through anything President Obama has done.
 
It is exceptionally rare that anyone's positions in life is better or worse exclusively because of any one President.
 
It is exceptionally rare that anyone's positions in life is better or worse exclusively because of any one President.

exclusively - no - substantially - yes
how did much of America fare between the first days of the dicknbush regime and the last
for most of us, i believe we would say our economic conditions were worse at the administration's end ... not unlike would have been said of the hoover presidency and the economic troubles it brought to bear on our nation
 
exclusively - no - substantially - yes
how did much of America fare between the first days of the dicknbush regime and the last
7 1/2 years into the Bush presidency the economy was doing just fine. The growth rate and unemployment rate for 7 1/2 years of Bush is comparable to 7 1/2 years of Obama
for most of us, i believe we would say our economic conditions were worse at the administration's end ... not unlike would have been said of the hoover presidency and the economic troubles it brought to bear on our nation
Bad analogy since Hoover did not cause the Great Depression He was only in office a few months prior to a crash that would have happened regardless of who was in office.
 
Doing better or not is obviously a multifaceted state of being. Over the past 7 1/2 years my net worth and retirement accounts have grown substantially. This while I have been retired since 2010. At 65 years of age my health is about the same. I now pay hundreds of dollars less per month for healthcare having recently enrolled in Medicare. Life for me is better than it has ever been all things considered. I also believe the country is in far better shape than it was 7 1/2 years ago. We are on the right track into the future.

If we could solve overpopulation, global warming, depletion of vital resources, pollution, clean energy deployment, a general distrust in the sciences and outsourcing of jobs to other countries the path to the future will look even better.
 
For me in been mixed.

Worse because:
  • I've had two pay cuts during the period. The first had nothing to do with a bad economy; in fact it was the exact opposite. My employer decided to just cut everybody's pay because they could, after a massive windfall. The second was due to economic pressures due to increased competition in my industry and decisions made at the top by out of town upper-management who honestly had no idea the level of my responsibilities that was affirmed by locals who've learned it's to their benefit to be agreeable with out of town upper-management.
  • Health insurance co-pays have gone up thanks to Obamacare, specifically due to the math that counted on 100% or close to it compliance that didn't happen.



Better because:

  • Due to pay cuts, was motivated to look into refinancing my house. Turned out I qualified for an Obama initiative to allowed people who were paying their mortgages on time to refinance at better interest rates despite being upside down.
  • Due to pay cuts, was motivated to look into other areas of cutting expenses including switching from cable to satellite TV, shopping around for less expensive auto insurance, etc.
  • Instead of having to support my kids, they've grown up and gotten their own jobs.
  • Because of Obama policies, credit card interest rates can no longer go up on past purchases. This allowed me to pay them off faster.
  • Because of Obama policies, I no longer use a pre-paid debit card. It isn't a financial gain per se but simplifies my life. Before Obama took office, banks issued debit cards attached to your checking account. If you use your debit card at a point of sale and exceed the amount available in your account, the sale would still be authorized and the bank would charge you $35 penalty plus $35 for every check you have that hadn't cleared yet. This is how banks would profit on "free checking accounts." They knew statistically, the average account holder would slip up once or twice a year, wreck the family budget that month and hand over money they couldn't afford to lose to the bank. To prevent this, I used a PayPal pre-paid debit card but it took about a week for funds added to be available. After Obama took office, banks are now required to decline point of sale debit card transactions if funds are not available.
 
7 years ago I was in the Army. Today I own a Succesful business making much more than I ever did in the Army and have more free time with my family. Life is a LOT better today than 7 years ago. Obama neither helped nor hindered that.
 
7 1/2 years into the Bush presidency the economy was doing just fine. The growth rate and unemployment rate for 7 1/2 years of Bush is comparable to 7 1/2 years of Obama
i believe there is a reason you are comparing 7.5 years to 7.5 years
maybe, because Obama has not completed his 8th year
but more likely because the end of the dicknbush regime was an economic nightmare
each forum member knows for themself how much their economic situation was changed between the beginning and end of the dicknbush administration
i would be very surprised to learn that most were better off at the end when compared to their circumstances at the beginning


Bad analogy since Hoover did not cause the Great Depression He was only in office a few months prior to a crash that would have happened regardless of who was in office.
this hoover analogy offers a valid comparison and contrast with that of the Obama administration
both presidents experienced economic calamity early in their administrations
one brought us out of that economic decline into resumed prosperity
the other's policies made the economic dilemma of the nation a worsen experience
 
Voted Other

Was retired going into 7 1/2 years ago , still retired.
Some living costs have gone up (health insurance for one).
Cost of living adjustments, hit or miss (but that is a formula Congress sets)

All in all, my life is neither worse or better over the last 7.5 years.
 
exclusively - no - substantially - yes
how did much of America fare between the first days of the dicknbush regime and the last
for most of us, i believe we would say our economic conditions were worse at the administration's end ... not unlike would have been said of the hoover presidency and the economic troubles it brought to bear on our nation

Couple of issues, in no particular order...

Bush 43 & Cheney were not completely responsible for either the housing economic bubble nor the financial system implosion from that bubble. Of course there are things any one President could have pushed for or addressed with policy within his domain but what we cannot do is blame the condition of the economy when Bush 43 left on him. You might have been in worse shape in 2008/2009 than in 2000/2001, and there is plenty of blame as to why that might be the case. In some ways going back decades.

Similar story with Obama and the "recovery." He alone is not exclusively responsible for our economic position today, and technically he will end up in the books dealing with 6 of his 8 years with a Congress that did not agree with him nor was willing to compromise all that much (either way.)

One thing we can discuss is when an initiative from some department and/or executive policy changes something in an industry. Perhaps if you work in coal you are worse off today than 8 years ago as EPA and various initiatives has changed how much coal we are getting out of the ground. Consequently there are small communities seeing their economic model change / diminish because of a decrease in jobs in that area from then to now. That would be an example of a President's will and executive action doing something.

Same story with a President sending our military off to war, twice, in simultaneous activities putting a strain on the military (and their families.) That would be another example of a President directly impacting lives since Congress cannot seem to get around to a formal declaration of war these days.

I am sure there are other examples, but they become weighted by what a President can do at least more on his authority than waiting on Congress.
 
Since I was laid off in the Great Bush Recession of 2008 things have gotten better. Was able to find another job quickly and keep the years severance I earned for 18 years of service. My wife continued in her job and prospered so we are doing well even if I don't make as much as I once did.

It will take time to get back to where incomes were in the run up to the Clinton/Greenspan bubbles. It is quite probable that we are nearing the crest of a third wave.
 
As we approach the end of the Obama White House years, I'm wondering how his time in office has impacted YOUR life.

In my humble opinion, the conservative media is expert is creating high emotional negative imagery of their opponents. I personally think they're so good at it, they're able to do so despite the fact their own lives are either not adversely affected or even better off thanks to the very opposition they have been conditioned to despise. Example: The people I know who are screaming the loudest about Obamacare already had employer-based group health insurance, were not being forced to buy something they didn't want and are in fact happy that their young adult kids get to stay on their policies until they get jobs that offer health insurance. They're happy the interest rates on their outstanding credit card balance can't be increased.

I've also seen loyalty for the liberal team take priority over their own concerns that if it were not for the fact that liberal policies were being advanced by the people for whom they vote. Example: I have liberal relatives with daughters, nieces and granddaughters who would have gone ballistic at the notion of teenage boys and adult male teachers being able to legally enter the girls shower areas and dressing rooms at schools while female students are undressed but since they choose to be loyal supporters of their political team, they talk themselves into thinking its okay.

Let's set aside team loyalty for this question. Has your own life or the life of your family gotten better or worse over the past 7 1/2 years and feel free to offer an explanation?

Of course my life is better than it was 7.5 Years ago though there have been some bumps and bruises along the way! 7.5 years ago, I was an awkward nerdy conspiracy theorist in High School working at Burger King. Today, I am a successful College graduate getting paid to do what I want. I've dropped the conspiracy theories and live a happy more fulfilling life because I decided I'd rather not be angry at things that aren't part of my control. And you know debunking theories you know aren't true are more fun. I live comfortably enough for one single guy. I have my own car and my own apartment. In the next 7.5 years I hope to be financially secure making above six figures, and with my own family. The six figure salary preferably comes first.

Nothing but you is stopping you from accomplishing your goals.
 
i believe there is a reason you are comparing 7.5 years to 7.5 years
maybe, because Obama has not completed his 8th year
but more likely because the end of the dicknbush regime was an economic nightmare
each forum member knows for themself how much their economic situation was changed between the beginning and end of the dicknbush administration
i would be very surprised to learn that most were better off at the end when compared to their circumstances at the beginning
Wrong. I am comparing 7 1/2 of Bush because the OP introduced that time frame.


this hoover analogy offers a valid comparison and contrast with that of the Obama administration
both presidents experienced economic calamity early in their administrations
one brought us out of that economic decline into resumed prosperity
the other's policies made the economic dilemma of the nation a worsen experience
Except that nothing Obama did brought us out of the decline. If you are desperate to thank a single individual, thank Bernanke. Praising Obama is just hackery.
And nothing Hoover could have done would have ended the Depression. Everything FDR tried failed on that score as well.
 
7 1/2 years into the Bush presidency the economy was doing just fine. The growth rate and unemployment rate for 7 1/2 years of Bush is comparable to 7 1/2 years of Obama
Bad analogy since Hoover did not cause the Great Depression He was only in office a few months prior to a crash that would have happened regardless of who was in office.

Same is true of the 2008 recession.
 
Doing better or not is obviously a multifaceted state of being. Over the past 7 1/2 years my net worth and retirement accounts have grown substantially. This while I have been retired since 2010. At 65 years of age my health is about the same. I now pay hundreds of dollars less per month for healthcare having recently enrolled in Medicare. Life for me is better than it has ever been all things considered. I also believe the country is in far better shape than it was 7 1/2 years ago. We are on the right track into the future.

If we could solve overpopulation, global warming, depletion of vital resources, pollution, clean energy deployment, a general distrust in the sciences and outsourcing of jobs to other countries the path to the future will look even better.

What about world peace?

 
better. i am in a relationship and i have a better job, among other things. however, i don't credit the president for most of it. what i do credit him for is the stimulus, which made my stupid employer specific health care affordable to COBRA when i lost my job at the height of the economic crisis caused by Wall Street gamblers. i'm not a huge fan of the sequester, which contributed to me losing my most recent job, though. meh, i'm working now, so it is what it is.
 
For me in been mixed.

Worse because:
  • I've had two pay cuts during the period. The first had nothing to do with a bad economy; in fact it was the exact opposite. My employer decided to just cut everybody's pay because they could, after a massive windfall. The second was due to economic pressures due to increased competition in my industry and decisions made at the top by out of town upper-management who honestly had no idea the level of my responsibilities that was affirmed by locals who've learned it's to their benefit to be agreeable with out of town upper-management.
  • Health insurance co-pays have gone up thanks to Obamacare, specifically due to the math that counted on 100% or close to it compliance that didn't happen.

When I look at this one, I see that you blame your employer for the pay cut but you chose to still work there? That tells me that you were unable to find another job that would pay more. Therefore, you are being paid what your labor is worth. The job belongs to the employer, not the employee.

Better because:

  • Due to pay cuts, was motivated to look into refinancing my house. Turned out I qualified for an Obama initiative to allowed people who were paying their mortgages on time to refinance at better interest rates despite being upside down.
  • Due to pay cuts, was motivated to look into other areas of cutting expenses including switching from cable to satellite TV, shopping around for less expensive auto insurance, etc.
  • Instead of having to support my kids, they've grown up and gotten their own jobs.
  • Because of Obama policies, credit card interest rates can no longer go up on past purchases. This allowed me to pay them off faster.
  • Because of Obama policies, I no longer use a pre-paid debit card. It isn't a financial gain per se but simplifies my life. Before Obama took office, banks issued debit cards attached to your checking account. If you use your debit card at a point of sale and exceed the amount available in your account, the sale would still be authorized and the bank would charge you $35 penalty plus $35 for every check you have that hadn't cleared yet. This is how banks would profit on "free checking accounts." They knew statistically, the average account holder would slip up once or twice a year, wreck the family budget that month and hand over money they couldn't afford to lose to the bank. To prevent this, I used a PayPal pre-paid debit card but it took about a week for funds added to be available. After Obama took office, banks are now required to decline point of sale debit card transactions if funds are not available.

Cutting expenses is always a good thing. Imagine if you had done it prior to the wage cut. This is an example of less revenue leading to a cut in expenses. This is something that businesses face every day. When revenue is decreased or expenses in one area go up, a cut has to happen somewhere.
 
My wife and I have 5 children that have all left the nest during the past few years. Unfortunately none of them were interested in furthering their education and improving their opportunities. They all have children and are employed although I (being a biased Father) believe they could all be doing better than what they are! We (my wife and I) have managed to pay off most of our debts, we have not really gotten pay raises as we both work for WalMart and that company has made some significant changes to many policies over the last few years. My military retirement pay has not increased one dime over the last 7 years, although the taxes on it have gone up a tick, not much, but it has been a net loss on that income.

Over all, financially we are in a better place than we were, but it has nothing to do with government policies.
 
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