Are you better off then you were 2 years ago?

mikemike · 10-27-2010, 09:55 AM

This list pretty much sums up the democrats doublespeak priorities:

WHO'S BETTER OFF
Investors
Corporations
Home buyers
Consumers

WHO'S WORSE OFF
The undereducated
Homeowners
Low-income Americans
Job seekers

Who's Gained And Lost Under Obama, So Far - Yahoo! News

Ain't change grand?

Nesster · 10-27-2010, 10:16 AM

It's true this trend is ongoing, and seemingly consistent with the non double-speak Republican positions. And actually, were purely Republican policies in effect, we'd be in a worse mess today.

For all the 'better off' corporations I don't think they are looking at great prospects for next year - demand is still slack, the financial markets haven't recovered (I mean the financial markets that help drive business expansion). On the other hand corporations are socking away cash & no longer looking at the abyss like they were 2 years ago.

You might add - social security recipients, those living on fixed incomes, those retired or about to (forcibly or not), mid-level corporate workers all are worse off, but apart from the investment bubbles, this has been the case for over a decade.

Relative to being laid off, municipal and state employees still have jobs. Relative to not working, stimulus jobs program beneficiaries now have jobs (and some of these programs are enthusiastically endorsed by Republican governors). Oh, and rich folks dying this year are much better off.

Personally, I'm worse off, and this is a 3 year trend now.

stevewig · 10-27-2010, 10:57 AM

Originally posted by Nesster

..............Relative to being laid off, municipal and state employees still have jobs. Relative to not working, stimulus jobs program beneficiaries now have jobs (and some of these programs are enthusiastically endorsed by Republican governors). Oh, and rich folks dying this year are much better off.

Personally, I'm worse off, and this is a 3 year trend now.

Very good points and quite contrary to what Republican doublespeak would have you believe!

JavaJoe · 10-27-2010, 11:13 AM

Originally posted by Nesster

It's true this trend is ongoing, and seemingly consistent with the non double-speak Republican positions. And actually, were purely Republican policies in effect, we'd be in a worse mess today.

For all the 'better off' corporations I don't think they are looking at great prospects for next year - demand is still slack, the financial markets haven't recovered (I mean the financial markets that help drive business expansion). On the other hand corporations are socking away cash & no longer looking at the abyss like they were 2 years ago.

You might add - social security recipients, those living on fixed incomes, those retired or about to (forcibly or not), mid-level corporate workers all are worse off, but apart from the investment bubbles, this has been the case for over a decade.

Relative to being laid off, municipal and state employees still have jobs. Relative to not working, stimulus jobs program beneficiaries now have jobs (and some of these programs are enthusiastically endorsed by Republican governors). Oh, and rich folks dying this year are much better off.

Personally, I'm worse off, and this is a 3 year trend now.

How would you know that? Democrats have been in control since 2006. Add the 2-3 years of RINO occupation before that and we haven't seen Republican policy in quite a while. Let's face it the only ones benefiting are the low income folks. They get their check the first of the month no matter what. Stimulus is simply a transfer of wealth. It is not wealth building.

Nesster · 10-27-2010, 11:47 AM

JavaJoe, I'd say both parties have been in collusion here.

I do agree with you that the Bush Republicans and RINOS implemented 'trickle down' in a classic manner: no budgetary restraint, no real efforts towards efficiencies, two un-funded wars, one of which was a precedent setting preemptive invasion (I forgot: the dead and wounded of the wars, and their familes, aren't much worse now than then, only there are more of them, and maybe they are getting more VA funding and support from the govt now)... where was I, oh yes, classic 'trickle down' implementation created unprecedented deficits during a good economy and heightened the concentration of wealth (i.e. no trickle down).

And I wouldn't call that RINO policy, or Democrat policy: Saint Ron did the same thing, only he raised taxes. And it was the Republican congress that did away with the budgetary funding rules that had been hammered into place during Clinton and the Republican congress of the time. While the Dems may wish to spend on things they believe will help the country in the long run, they also -however fictitiously- at least try to show how to pay for the programs. Republicans, in their spineless way, rail at the spending but rarely actually a) vote against a popular program b) demonstrate how something will be paid for.

Obama's options were limited by the economy - if Bush had been more fiscally responsible, the Keynsean stimulus would have had something to work with. And let's note once more, about a third of the stimulus was tax cuts (is that not Republican?), a third jobs programs that benefit corporations (they get contracts) as well as states, and a third was the extension of unemployment benefits etc. Stimulus was a transfer of wealth the way the wars are a transfer of wealth.

I would also note that Obamacare is in fact a Republican plan, because essentially it took large chunks from Dole, Baker and Romney. If it weren't for the DINOS, and the threat of filibuster, a Democrat plan would have looked a bit better. And I've already pointed out in another thread the Bush Medicare drug plan, which is a bureaucratic paperwork marvel.

Obama will come out as the fiscal conservative he is - the way Clinton was - and battle a possibly Republican congress to actually get some fiscal responsibility back. Republicans on their own can't get it done.

shooz · 10-27-2010, 11:59 AM

Actually, I've been steadily worse off since about 6mos. after Pres. Bush first took office.
The two big drops were after 9-11 and of course the banking scandal that plunged the world into it's current predicament.
However you believe it happened is irrelevant.
It took many years for us to pull out of the Reagan recession.
It will take many years to pull out of this one.
In the mean time?
Enjoy the conspiracy theories......

**Ash** · 10-27-2010, 12:21 PM

In the scheme of things, if you've got a job that pays the bills, puts food on the table and clothes on your back, plus a little extra for your photography hobby, then you're doing better than the majority of people in this world.

Being 'worse' off to me means major undesirable shifts in lifestyle - would this be the case for those who say they're worse off?

Ratmagiclady · 10-27-2010, 12:31 PM

Obama would pretty much have to have been able to do anything we voted for for that question to be very meaningful. With the GOP blocking and filibustering *everything* including routine appointments, in the name of 'saving money,' ...they create a lot of problems that are in fact vastly more expensive: if BP had been in a world with enough regulatory appointments, would we have that huge expensive catastrophe on our hands? Quite likely not.

Even 'little things' like not correcting Social Security payments for the housing crash, etc (The previous index for cost-of-living adjustments meant that there was no COLA increase, while the actual cost of living for disabled folks and elders went way up beyond inflation: cause energy and medical and other costs, as well as regressive state taxes and fees (that aren't income taxes) have kept going up: result? Lots of people barely getting by, all they have going to medication or OTC self-medication, instead of maybe having a few bucks for spending in their local economies.)

Basically, there's obstructing in the name of 'spending lean,' and then there's 'spending smart.'

A lot of the things that *aren't* happening are to blame, here.

Like keeping people in their homes, both to preserve real estate values *and* local economies.

There's a lot of screaming about 'the budget,' but not a lot of comparing or asking where some would have the money go, or where they expect their big 'trickle-down' profits to *come from.*

Certainly not much talk about *doing* anything.

Still got a perfectly good country, here, ...just can't keep looting it, parting it out, and rearranging the wealth upwards to a wealthy few forever, is all.

Maybe some *want* to go back to how it seemed to be during the Bush administration... The same policies that got us into this mess.

Hate to break it to you, but that couldn't last, no matter how many teabags people wear.

---------- Post added 10-27-10 at 03:48 PM ----------

Originally posted by Ash

In the scheme of things, if you've got a job that pays the bills, puts food on the table and clothes on your back, plus a little extra for your photography hobby, then you're doing better than the majority of people in this world.

Being 'worse' off to me means major undesirable shifts in lifestyle - would this be the case for those who say they're worse off?

Well, I tend to measure it in time, pain, security, and potential. We were much less-affected by the 'credit-crunch' cause we live cash-on-the-barrelhead here, but one's acutely aware when the margins shrink. Some real differences between, 'With austerity, I can get some stuff or have the means to try and make a few bucks,' to 'OK, need more medicine, new glasses have to wait all summer,' hopefully then this, then that,' ...Even what one may consider a pretty good position, well, you really know when things are slowing down all over. I'm still hoping things will be reasonably-recovered by the time I'm in a position to sell anybody anything.

The real condition here, at least in this town and state, is that the conservatives have been *really just trying to slow things down, then hoping to use the frustration to get back into power.* (Meanwhile, of course the rent and bills and other routine expenses have to be paid, whether you're making much progress that month or not: personally, I can turn a little bit of leeway into a lot of progress, but can't make much out of nothing.)

Well, people are frustrated, all right.

jeffkrol · 10-27-2010, 01:13 PM

Originally posted by mikemike

This list pretty much sums up the democrats doublespeak priorities:

WHO'S BETTER OFF
Investors
Corporations
Home buyers
Consumers

WHO'S WORSE OFF
The undereducated
Homeowners
Low-income Americans
Job seekers

Who's Gained And Lost Under Obama, So Far - Yahoo! News

Ain't change grand?

Not quite the responses you may have expected..... BUT tell me about yourself.. please don't include future paranoia..... just the here and now...
Please explain in detail exactly how you are worse off today then 2 years ago...
Of course it will be hard to remove your fed. funded city influence here....or corporate fouling of your nest.........

reeftool · 10-27-2010, 01:50 PM

Lets see...2 years ago at this time the economy was sinking like a rock. My 401k was loosing $500 a week. Companys were laying off by the thousands. Gasoline and heating oil were approaching $5 a gallon and most peoples vision of the immediate future resembled the winter scenes from Dr. Zhivago. The guy getting all the blame for this was still a candidate. A Senator with one vote. The guys who are pointing their fingers caused the problem to begin with. As a mechanic I can appreciate this. Most of what I repair is neglect and abuse but I get the blame when the bill is too much. Then they take their trucks out and break them again.

Things certainly aren't rosy today but my 401k made back what it lost. Everybody in my family is working. So now that things are patched up (not fixed), I should vote for the party that screwed us and put them back in power?

Jasvox · 10-27-2010, 01:53 PM - **1 Like**

Life is a series of peaks and valleys, ebb and flow...how you handle yourself in each is what you leave behind. Stop panicking, keep focus, stop whining and get on with life.

Jason

tmj41765 · 10-27-2010, 01:58 PM

Originally posted by jeffkrol

Not quite the responses you may have expected..... BUT tell me about yourself.. please don't include future paranoia..... just the here and now...
Please explain in detail exactly how you are worse off today then 2 years ago...
Of course it will be hard to remove your fed. funded city influence here....or corporate fouling of your nest.........

I'm worse off today than 2 years ago because I'm in the United Steelworkers Local 14693 & we've been working without a contract for 2 months now (first time in my 24 years & 5 contracts of being there!!!) The Company OR the Union don't have any idea how OBAMACARE is going to effect us just 1 year down the road. MOST of the Union & nearly all of the company personnel are hoping it gets repealed, but nobody knows. Also one of the largest parts of the business is Titanium medical implants that have now taken a beating (think OBAMACARE again) just after we're finally getting past the tremendous slowdown in the forged Ti aerospace business caused by 9/11 (and it had nothing to do with Bush, so don't give me that stuff).
And everyday I'm sent flyers by the Union on how choosing Republicans is worse than choosing the Democrats that are there now....
Yes, I'm worse off. no doubt about it.
The biggest shame is that the Union spends MY money on the Libs & never asked our local for a vote on who WE would like them to support. It's the same old Liberal thinking that they know what's better for us than we do.
Sure we have some liberals where we work, but it's NOT the majority!

magkelly · 10-27-2010, 02:03 PM

H- NO! I'm not doing better.

Obama getting elected hasn't done anything for me in terms of how I live. My finances have only gotten steadily worse over the past two years. The economy here is awful and only getting worse. I've been laid off twice in 3 years and even with major computer skills I can't even get any temp work lately.

1/3 of the homes in my neighborhood are up for sale, many due to foreclosure.The local stores and eateries are also closing left and right. No one is hiring. The places that remain operate with a skeleton staff. You can't even get a job here at Walmart or McDonald's. The competition is so fierce that even the few minimum wage jobs available are filled immediately.

You have tons of people on CL/Ebay selling everything but their flesh and blood relatives just trying to make ends meet. If it wasn't for new local laws preventing there would be people on nearly every block here begging for a handout, help, whatever they can get. It's been THAT bad.

I don't care what the government says. The Recession is NOT over and I am not even sure it qualifies as just a Recession at this point. It may not be quite as bad as The Great Depression was but it's been pretty brutal for most people I know.

I'm doing the best I can with what I've got but I'm still living on practically nothing all the time and I don't see that changing much for the foreseeable future. I'm hoping that when I start getting into doing more photography professionally that I will start to make a bit more doing it, but if not, then at least I will be happier doing something I like to do. Making minimum wage taking pictures definitely beats making minimum wage at a retail or food service job where I always pray and hope they will schedule me for more than 15 hours a week, or sitting by the phone just waiting and hoping I'll actually get a few days of temping in an office that particular week.

When the day comes that I can actually make something besides my rent, my utilities and the basic necessities in terms of food again? Then I might have a different opinion on whomever might be in the Oval Office, but right now I'm just disgusted with both parties and I'm really, really tired of living under the poverty line and having to "do without" most of the time to be able to afford to do anything other than simply exist.

For the record I'm not a person who thinks that "existing" includes a lot of luxuries. I share a lot of my bills with someone else or I wouldn't even have internet. I don't go to the movies but twice a year maybe. I share a car. I always use coupons, buy most things I need only when on sale and store them to save money. I buy clothes second hand or try to get them for free of CL and Freecycle. I most do without things like makeup, perfume and other fancy personal care products just so I can feed my cats and buy what I need to eventually be the professional photographer I want to be.

I'm not what I consider "dirt poor" there are plenty of people in my town who are worse off than I am, but I'm not in any way living a Middle Class lifestyle anymore. Upper Lower Class, maybe, but I left being Lower Middle Class quite a long time ago and I don't know if I will ever be able to afford to live like that again.

I hope so. Working to exist mostly isn't much fun. It would be nice to be able to afford to do something besides that once in a while, but I'm realistic and just grateful that I have a roof over my head and something to eat 3X a day. A lot of people here cannot say the same.

mikemike · 10-27-2010, 02:10 PM

Here are the attempts to aid these groups that I have seen, am I missing something? Most democratic efforts to influence the market place have fallen flat on their face.

WHO'S BETTER OFF
Investors
Corporations
-Financial Reform was supposed to curb their power
Home buyers
-Home Buyer Tax Credit
Consumers
-Pentax released the K-r, K-5, and 2 new lenses

WHO'S WORSE OFF
The undereducated
Homeowners
-Making Home Affordable
Low-income Americans
-Stimulus tax cuts
Job seekers
-Extra tiers of unemployment benefits
-SNAP
-Stimulus infrastructure spending

Quote:

Gasoline and heating oil were approaching $5 a gallon and most peoples vision of the immediate future resembled the winter scenes from Dr. Zhivago.

The average retail price for a gallon of regular unleaded the week of October 27, 2008 was $2.589.

jeffkrol · 10-27-2010, 02:13 PM

Originally posted by mikemike

Here are the attempts to aid these groups that I have seen, am I missing something? Most democratic efforts to influence the market place have fallen flat on their face.

WHO'S BETTER OFF
Investors
Corporations
-Financial Reform was supposed to curb their power
Home buyers
-Home Buyer Tax Credit
Consumers
-Pentax released the K-r, K-5, and 2 new lenses

WHO'S WORSE OFF
The undereducated
Homeowners
-Making Home Affordable
Low-income Americans
-Stimulus tax cuts
Job seekers
-Extra tiers of unemployment benefits
-SNAP
-Stimulus infrastructure spending

The average retail price for a gallon of regular unleaded the week of October 27, 2008 was $2.589.

So Obama saved us...

10-27-2010, 09:55 AM	#1
mikemike Inactive Account Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: New Orleans Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,053	Are you better off then you were 2 years ago? This list pretty much sums up the democrats doublespeak priorities: WHO'S BETTER OFF Investors Corporations Home buyers Consumers WHO'S WORSE OFF The undereducated Homeowners Low-income Americans Job seekers Who's Gained And Lost Under Obama, So Far - Yahoo! News Ain't change grand?

10-27-2010, 12:31 PM	#8
Ratmagiclady Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: GA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 13,563	Obama would pretty much have to have been able to do anything we voted for for that question to be very meaningful. With the GOP blocking and filibustering everything including routine appointments, in the name of 'saving money,' ...they create a lot of problems that are in fact vastly more expensive: if BP had been in a world with enough regulatory appointments, would we have that huge expensive catastrophe on our hands? Quite likely not. Even 'little things' like not correcting Social Security payments for the housing crash, etc (The previous index for cost-of-living adjustments meant that there was no COLA increase, while the actual cost of living for disabled folks and elders went way up beyond inflation: cause energy and medical and other costs, as well as regressive state taxes and fees (that aren't income taxes) have kept going up: result? Lots of people barely getting by, all they have going to medication or OTC self-medication, instead of maybe having a few bucks for spending in their local economies.) Basically, there's obstructing in the name of 'spending lean,' and then there's 'spending smart.' A lot of the things that aren't happening are to blame, here. Like keeping people in their homes, both to preserve real estate values and local economies. There's a lot of screaming about 'the budget,' but not a lot of comparing or asking where some would have the money go, or where they expect their big 'trickle-down' profits to come from. Certainly not much talk about doing anything. Still got a perfectly good country, here, ...just can't keep looting it, parting it out, and rearranging the wealth upwards to a wealthy few forever, is all. Maybe some want to go back to how it seemed to be during the Bush administration... The same policies that got us into this mess. Hate to break it to you, but that couldn't last, no matter how many teabags people wear. ---------- Post added 10-27-10 at 03:48 PM ---------- Originally posted by Ash In the scheme of things, if you've got a job that pays the bills, puts food on the table and clothes on your back, plus a little extra for your photography hobby, then you're doing better than the majority of people in this world. Being 'worse' off to me means major undesirable shifts in lifestyle - would this be the case for those who say they're worse off? Well, I tend to measure it in time, pain, security, and potential. We were much less-affected by the 'credit-crunch' cause we live cash-on-the-barrelhead here, but one's acutely aware when the margins shrink. Some real differences between, 'With austerity, I can get some stuff or have the means to try and make a few bucks,' to 'OK, need more medicine, new glasses have to wait all summer,' hopefully then this, then that,' ...Even what one may consider a pretty good position, well, you really know when things are slowing down all over. I'm still hoping things will be reasonably-recovered by the time I'm in a position to sell anybody anything. The real condition here, at least in this town and state, is that the conservatives have been really just trying to slow things down, then hoping to use the frustration to get back into power. (Meanwhile, of course the rent and bills and other routine expenses have to be paid, whether you're making much progress that month or not: personally, I can turn a little bit of leeway into a lot of progress, but can't make much out of nothing.) Well, people are frustrated, all right. Last edited by Ratmagiclady; 10-27-2010 at 12:50 PM.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Landscape 30 years ago today...	chacoansun	Post Your Photos!	6	05-18-2010 02:10 PM
Fifty Years Ago	graphicgr8s	General Talk	8	10-05-2009 02:17 PM
It was 22 years ago today	daacon	Post Your Photos!	38	06-09-2008 09:34 PM
five years ago...	Gooshin	Post Your Photos!	11	03-16-2008 07:22 AM
If only i had my skill 2 years ago...	Kingsofronin	Post Your Photos!	1	08-13-2007 11:27 AM

10-27-2010, 10:16 AM	#2
Nesster Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: NJ USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 13,072	It's true this trend is ongoing, and seemingly consistent with the non double-speak Republican positions. And actually, were purely Republican policies in effect, we'd be in a worse mess today. For all the 'better off' corporations I don't think they are looking at great prospects for next year - demand is still slack, the financial markets haven't recovered (I mean the financial markets that help drive business expansion). On the other hand corporations are socking away cash & no longer looking at the abyss like they were 2 years ago. You might add - social security recipients, those living on fixed incomes, those retired or about to (forcibly or not), mid-level corporate workers all are worse off, but apart from the investment bubbles, this has been the case for over a decade. Relative to being laid off, municipal and state employees still have jobs. Relative to not working, stimulus jobs program beneficiaries now have jobs (and some of these programs are enthusiastically endorsed by Republican governors). Oh, and rich folks dying this year are much better off. Personally, I'm worse off, and this is a 3 year trend now.

10-27-2010, 10:57 AM	#3
stevewig Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 773	Originally posted by Nesster ..............Relative to being laid off, municipal and state employees still have jobs. Relative to not working, stimulus jobs program beneficiaries now have jobs (and some of these programs are enthusiastically endorsed by Republican governors). Oh, and rich folks dying this year are much better off. Personally, I'm worse off, and this is a 3 year trend now. Very good points and quite contrary to what Republican doublespeak would have you believe!

10-27-2010, 11:13 AM	#4
JavaJoe Inactive Account Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Somewhere between here and there Posts: 120	Originally posted by Nesster It's true this trend is ongoing, and seemingly consistent with the non double-speak Republican positions. And actually, were purely Republican policies in effect, we'd be in a worse mess today. For all the 'better off' corporations I don't think they are looking at great prospects for next year - demand is still slack, the financial markets haven't recovered (I mean the financial markets that help drive business expansion). On the other hand corporations are socking away cash & no longer looking at the abyss like they were 2 years ago. You might add - social security recipients, those living on fixed incomes, those retired or about to (forcibly or not), mid-level corporate workers all are worse off, but apart from the investment bubbles, this has been the case for over a decade. Relative to being laid off, municipal and state employees still have jobs. Relative to not working, stimulus jobs program beneficiaries now have jobs (and some of these programs are enthusiastically endorsed by Republican governors). Oh, and rich folks dying this year are much better off. Personally, I'm worse off, and this is a 3 year trend now. How would you know that? Democrats have been in control since 2006. Add the 2-3 years of RINO occupation before that and we haven't seen Republican policy in quite a while. Let's face it the only ones benefiting are the low income folks. They get their check the first of the month no matter what. Stimulus is simply a transfer of wealth. It is not wealth building.

10-27-2010, 11:47 AM	#5
Nesster Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: NJ USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 13,072	JavaJoe, I'd say both parties have been in collusion here. I do agree with you that the Bush Republicans and RINOS implemented 'trickle down' in a classic manner: no budgetary restraint, no real efforts towards efficiencies, two un-funded wars, one of which was a precedent setting preemptive invasion (I forgot: the dead and wounded of the wars, and their familes, aren't much worse now than then, only there are more of them, and maybe they are getting more VA funding and support from the govt now)... where was I, oh yes, classic 'trickle down' implementation created unprecedented deficits during a good economy and heightened the concentration of wealth (i.e. no trickle down). And I wouldn't call that RINO policy, or Democrat policy: Saint Ron did the same thing, only he raised taxes. And it was the Republican congress that did away with the budgetary funding rules that had been hammered into place during Clinton and the Republican congress of the time. While the Dems may wish to spend on things they believe will help the country in the long run, they also -however fictitiously- at least try to show how to pay for the programs. Republicans, in their spineless way, rail at the spending but rarely actually a) vote against a popular program b) demonstrate how something will be paid for. Obama's options were limited by the economy - if Bush had been more fiscally responsible, the Keynsean stimulus would have had something to work with. And let's note once more, about a third of the stimulus was tax cuts (is that not Republican?), a third jobs programs that benefit corporations (they get contracts) as well as states, and a third was the extension of unemployment benefits etc. Stimulus was a transfer of wealth the way the wars are a transfer of wealth. I would also note that Obamacare is in fact a Republican plan, because essentially it took large chunks from Dole, Baker and Romney. If it weren't for the DINOS, and the threat of filibuster, a Democrat plan would have looked a bit better. And I've already pointed out in another thread the Bush Medicare drug plan, which is a bureaucratic paperwork marvel. Obama will come out as the fiscal conservative he is - the way Clinton was - and battle a possibly Republican congress to actually get some fiscal responsibility back. Republicans on their own can't get it done.

10-27-2010, 11:59 AM	#6
shooz Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Detroit Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,491	Actually, I've been steadily worse off since about 6mos. after Pres. Bush first took office. The two big drops were after 9-11 and of course the banking scandal that plunged the world into it's current predicament. However you believe it happened is irrelevant. It took many years for us to pull out of the Reagan recession. It will take many years to pull out of this one. In the mean time? Enjoy the conspiracy theories......

10-27-2010, 12:21 PM	#7
Ash Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Toowoomba, Queensland Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 23,920	In the scheme of things, if you've got a job that pays the bills, puts food on the table and clothes on your back, plus a little extra for your photography hobby, then you're doing better than the majority of people in this world. Being 'worse' off to me means major undesirable shifts in lifestyle - would this be the case for those who say they're worse off?

10-27-2010, 01:13 PM	#9
jeffkrol Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Wisconsin USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,434	Originally posted by mikemike This list pretty much sums up the democrats doublespeak priorities: WHO'S BETTER OFF Investors Corporations Home buyers Consumers WHO'S WORSE OFF The undereducated Homeowners Low-income Americans Job seekers Who's Gained And Lost Under Obama, So Far - Yahoo! News Ain't change grand? Not quite the responses you may have expected..... BUT tell me about yourself.. please don't include future paranoia..... just the here and now... Please explain in detail exactly how you are worse off today then 2 years ago... Of course it will be hard to remove your fed. funded city influence here....or corporate fouling of your nest.........

10-27-2010, 01:50 PM	#10
reeftool Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Upstate New York Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,553	Lets see...2 years ago at this time the economy was sinking like a rock. My 401k was loosing $500 a week. Companys were laying off by the thousands. Gasoline and heating oil were approaching $5 a gallon and most peoples vision of the immediate future resembled the winter scenes from Dr. Zhivago. The guy getting all the blame for this was still a candidate. A Senator with one vote. The guys who are pointing their fingers caused the problem to begin with. As a mechanic I can appreciate this. Most of what I repair is neglect and abuse but I get the blame when the bill is too much. Then they take their trucks out and break them again. Things certainly aren't rosy today but my 401k made back what it lost. Everybody in my family is working. So now that things are patched up (not fixed), I should vote for the party that screwed us and put them back in power?

10-27-2010, 01:53 PM - 1 Like	#11
Jasvox Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 3,107	Life is a series of peaks and valleys, ebb and flow...how you handle yourself in each is what you leave behind. Stop panicking, keep focus, stop whining and get on with life. Jason

10-27-2010, 01:58 PM	#12
tmj41765 Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 67	Originally posted by jeffkrol Not quite the responses you may have expected..... BUT tell me about yourself.. please don't include future paranoia..... just the here and now... Please explain in detail exactly how you are worse off today then 2 years ago... Of course it will be hard to remove your fed. funded city influence here....or corporate fouling of your nest......... I'm worse off today than 2 years ago because I'm in the United Steelworkers Local 14693 & we've been working without a contract for 2 months now (first time in my 24 years & 5 contracts of being there!!!) The Company OR the Union don't have any idea how OBAMACARE is going to effect us just 1 year down the road. MOST of the Union & nearly all of the company personnel are hoping it gets repealed, but nobody knows. Also one of the largest parts of the business is Titanium medical implants that have now taken a beating (think OBAMACARE again) just after we're finally getting past the tremendous slowdown in the forged Ti aerospace business caused by 9/11 (and it had nothing to do with Bush, so don't give me that stuff). And everyday I'm sent flyers by the Union on how choosing Republicans is worse than choosing the Democrats that are there now.... Yes, I'm worse off. no doubt about it. The biggest shame is that the Union spends MY money on the Libs & never asked our local for a vote on who WE would like them to support. It's the same old Liberal thinking that they know what's better for us than we do. Sure we have some liberals where we work, but it's NOT the majority!

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

10-27-2010, 02:03 PM	#13
magkelly Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,901	H- NO! I'm not doing better. Obama getting elected hasn't done anything for me in terms of how I live. My finances have only gotten steadily worse over the past two years. The economy here is awful and only getting worse. I've been laid off twice in 3 years and even with major computer skills I can't even get any temp work lately. 1/3 of the homes in my neighborhood are up for sale, many due to foreclosure.The local stores and eateries are also closing left and right. No one is hiring. The places that remain operate with a skeleton staff. You can't even get a job here at Walmart or McDonald's. The competition is so fierce that even the few minimum wage jobs available are filled immediately. You have tons of people on CL/Ebay selling everything but their flesh and blood relatives just trying to make ends meet. If it wasn't for new local laws preventing there would be people on nearly every block here begging for a handout, help, whatever they can get. It's been THAT bad. I don't care what the government says. The Recession is NOT over and I am not even sure it qualifies as just a Recession at this point. It may not be quite as bad as The Great Depression was but it's been pretty brutal for most people I know. I'm doing the best I can with what I've got but I'm still living on practically nothing all the time and I don't see that changing much for the foreseeable future. I'm hoping that when I start getting into doing more photography professionally that I will start to make a bit more doing it, but if not, then at least I will be happier doing something I like to do. Making minimum wage taking pictures definitely beats making minimum wage at a retail or food service job where I always pray and hope they will schedule me for more than 15 hours a week, or sitting by the phone just waiting and hoping I'll actually get a few days of temping in an office that particular week. When the day comes that I can actually make something besides my rent, my utilities and the basic necessities in terms of food again? Then I might have a different opinion on whomever might be in the Oval Office, but right now I'm just disgusted with both parties and I'm really, really tired of living under the poverty line and having to "do without" most of the time to be able to afford to do anything other than simply exist. For the record I'm not a person who thinks that "existing" includes a lot of luxuries. I share a lot of my bills with someone else or I wouldn't even have internet. I don't go to the movies but twice a year maybe. I share a car. I always use coupons, buy most things I need only when on sale and store them to save money. I buy clothes second hand or try to get them for free of CL and Freecycle. I most do without things like makeup, perfume and other fancy personal care products just so I can feed my cats and buy what I need to eventually be the professional photographer I want to be. I'm not what I consider "dirt poor" there are plenty of people in my town who are worse off than I am, but I'm not in any way living a Middle Class lifestyle anymore. Upper Lower Class, maybe, but I left being Lower Middle Class quite a long time ago and I don't know if I will ever be able to afford to live like that again. I hope so. Working to exist mostly isn't much fun. It would be nice to be able to afford to do something besides that once in a while, but I'm realistic and just grateful that I have a roof over my head and something to eat 3X a day. A lot of people here cannot say the same.

10-27-2010, 02:10 PM	#14
mikemike Inactive Account Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: New Orleans Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,053 Original Poster	Here are the attempts to aid these groups that I have seen, am I missing something? Most democratic efforts to influence the market place have fallen flat on their face. WHO'S BETTER OFF Investors Corporations -Financial Reform was supposed to curb their power Home buyers -Home Buyer Tax Credit Consumers -Pentax released the K-r, K-5, and 2 new lenses WHO'S WORSE OFF The undereducated Homeowners -Making Home Affordable Low-income Americans -Stimulus tax cuts Job seekers -Extra tiers of unemployment benefits -SNAP -Stimulus infrastructure spending Quote: Gasoline and heating oil were approaching $5 a gallon and most peoples vision of the immediate future resembled the winter scenes from Dr. Zhivago. The average retail price for a gallon of regular unleaded the week of October 27, 2008 was $2.589.

10-27-2010, 02:13 PM	#15
jeffkrol Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Wisconsin USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,434	Originally posted by mikemike Here are the attempts to aid these groups that I have seen, am I missing something? Most democratic efforts to influence the market place have fallen flat on their face. WHO'S BETTER OFF Investors Corporations -Financial Reform was supposed to curb their power Home buyers -Home Buyer Tax Credit Consumers -Pentax released the K-r, K-5, and 2 new lenses WHO'S WORSE OFF The undereducated Homeowners -Making Home Affordable Low-income Americans -Stimulus tax cuts Job seekers -Extra tiers of unemployment benefits -SNAP -Stimulus infrastructure spending The average retail price for a gallon of regular unleaded the week of October 27, 2008 was $2.589. So Obama saved us...