Are you better off now than you were four years ago?

[UrbScotty]

Poll question: Are you better off now than you were four years ago?

[genius]

1. Lost about $200,000 in value of stock options after the take-over.

[Fuzzy LaRue]

15. I am doing spectaculalarly better,

but this is IN SPITE of Bush, not because of him. Should have a net gain of $200K this year compared to what I was earning a couple of years ago.

[SW FL Dem]

2. My family is better off, but is isn't

because of B*sh. I am still voting for, working for and contributing to Kerry.

[spooky3]

3. in some ways, yes; other ways, no

[TexasSissy]

20. This is my answer, too. Explanation:

If you mean, did I get raises, etc.? Then the answer is yes, I am doing better.

BUT....the air I'm breathing is worse, there are fewer trees in the forests, the pristine wilderness is in threat of being drilled, the water is more polluted, and a large section of my fellow countrymen are not doing better. Also, my property taxes have gone through the roof, health care costs have gotten even more exorbitant than they were, and prescription costs are out of this world. Also, the Medicare program has been decimated.

So I think that in the short term, I am doing better. But in the view of the second paragraph above, I think that if things continue along this path, regardless of who is in power, then I will be doing much worse in the long run.

[Mistress Quickly]

4. I am, but that's only because

I busted my ass to find a job to replace the one I lost after 9-11.

Right place right time.

[rndmprsn]

5. hmmm...

lets see....i am now a "feelancer" which basically means that i was laid off and can only get work in bits and pieces and i have NO healthcare either...living with my sister on top of it all.

4 years ago...i was head digital audio engineer @ an e-learning company in ohio...full benefits, great sports car and my own bachelor pad in the city...AND...i was doing freelance work back then too.

for people in the tech industry...you know what i mean.

[MsTryska]

21. i certainly do.

I making a good 20K less than i did in '99. my benefits suck, it seems my paycheck hardly goes anywhere, my 401K is gone, i have no savings. i'm just not in a good place.

[Bluzmann57]

6. NO!

In fact, I have recieved three contractual raises in the last three years, and have less money now than before. Could it be that prices have gone up on everything a person needs to live, like clothing, food, and shelter, not to mention gasoline? Nah that can't be it. Must be because I'm one of those no good Liberals who refuses to acknowledge bush as President.<And I'm sure that all these price increases aren't because of corporate greed. They have nothing but our best interests in mind>. Thats so much B.S. that I have to go now. I'm making myself ill just thinking about it.

[mhr]

7. Unemployed 51 Months - Retirement Savings Devastated

Over 2,500 resumes out the door.

CV Includes
BSEE
MBA
Commercial Pilot
Honorably Discharged Naval Officer

To date not one scintilla of interest from any employer of note.

Very depressing!

[jsw_81]

19. Holy cow

What a nightmare. Hang in there buddy.

[cheshire]

8. Anything I have now is not due to * We have less income but less expence.

[TNMOM]

9. I am, but the country is not.

My personal circumstances are better, but what the most important thing for me is the future of my children - and that is looking bleaker with the chimp in charge.

[wryter2000]

10. Yes, but...

Only because our landlord decided to sell us the house rather than put it on the market. Also, because I work for a fabulous company. Alan Greenspan's low interest rates helped us, too. They're low because * screwed up the economy so badly, so I guess that's because of * in a backhanded sort of way.

[nickinSTL]

11. no

I'm working 2 jobs to try to pay the bills, and my fiancee has basically been unemployed almost since Dumbya took office (actually it took a few months)

She has no health care, no income, and lots of debt.

I have lots of debt. Hard to support 2 on what I make, even at 2 jobs.

(my fiancee is a computer programmer)

[Wickerman]

12. Not in any way that Bush has affected

but personally, yes. Fiscally? Will never be able to make up what he has wreaked.

[Big Kahuna]

13. This is the third year my computer biz has lost money.

The economy is a little better this year, last year at this time it was horrible.

[livetohike]

14. No

I haven't worked since Sept 2000 and we had to move 3000 miles away from home so my husband could have a job. He has had 3 jobs in the past four years and he is an Engineer with an MBA.

It's easier to say I am retired than to explain the sad story of how a person with my background could still be unemployed.

[HughBeaumont]

16. Making more, keeping LESS.

no matter HOW much I try to budget. You saved some money? You got a tax cut? Sorrah! COL increase, state/property taxes, TOPS cuts for the wife's education, other factors just ate into that.

Pretty much like everyone else I know.

[irancontra]

17. same here...makin more saving less.

stagnancy.

[MsTryska]

23. You know ui thought it was jsut me.

i sit here and htink to myself, how is it i make a firmly middle class salary, single income/ no kids, yet I have to have a roommate to splti the bills with, and i'm still living paycheck to paycheck, and it's getting spent on the basics. I haven't been able to save, and i sure as heck am not having any fun with my money. it's all rent, utilities, carnote, food and gas, and any leftover goes to debt.

[HughBeaumont]

24. We don't even have car notes,

both of us make more, have refi'd our mortgage, have never gone on an even moderately-priced vacation and we STILL cannot save money. I just do not get it. A lot of it goes to necessary home repair (like a new furnace) but unfortunately car repair as well. We also have to pay day care, general COL increases and for a while, we were paying for the wife's school (in social work, can't really get anywhere in that field w/o a masters) because Taft cut TOPS from the budget.

What tax cut?

[Hamlette]

18. yes, but we gave it all away

we're some of the few who got a tax cut, we gave every dime of it to liberal causes, candidates and moveon.com.

[no name no slogan]

22. Yes, but it's not about me-- it's about US

I am actually doing better than I was four years ago for several reasons-- but in the end it's not just about ME. It's about US.

The country, as a whole, is in a lot worse shape than it was at this time in 2000. We're "at war", our allies hate us, our enemies have more power, and our workers are losing their jobs. Anybody who can't see this is either not looking beyond the end of their nose or is just plain ignorant.

We need to reverse the trend of the last four years, and return to a time when we cared about the rest of the world, and realized that it was our duty as the sole remaining superpower to not act as imperialists. We need to stop using war as a foreign policy tool, and stop treating our citizens like Kleenex.

[elfwitch]

25. NOPE. Right now I am unemployed...

I am unemployed and haven't had a good job bite in a while. I payed my rent really late and haven't paid my mid month bills yet. I don't know if I'll have enough to pay the rent on the 1st.

Four years ago I had a household income of over $75K and was living in San Antonio where that much money went a really long way. I was getting out of debt and had money to burn.

Now I am unemployed and stuck in Dallas. Better off? Not by a long fricken shot!

[hippiechick]

26. Where's the 'about the same' option ?

I SHOULD be better off - but with COLA not going up to match the economy and jobs being outsourced, there are no raises & no promotions at my company ... so I am exactly where I was 4 years ago.

No professional growth goin' on for this girl, and as a result, no personal/material growth goin' on either ... :(

[goddess40]

27. Retiree

This is Goddes40's mom. I am a retired nurse. Since my retirement in 2000 I have lost $40,000 in my pension fund. I help my youngest daughter and her family financially as her husband is a computer programer who has lost his job more than once due to down-sizing. They have four children and are without health insurance when he is not working. I also help my young adult grandchildren as they have crappy jobs and no health insurance. My oldest granddaughter's job was outsourced last week so I will be helping her even more. Now I am worried about Social Security and Medicare if * gets elected. He will kill those programs.