# Are you better off now . . . **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 7, 2012, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-better-off-now/633954 "2012-09-07T04:42:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-better-off-now/633954/1 "2012-09-07T04:42:02Z")
. . . than you would be if McCain/Palin had won in 2008? Yes, you are. ---
**Author:** ![Curiosity\_Kills\_Her](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Curiosity\_Kills\_Her](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Curiosity_Kills_Her)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-better-off-now/633954/2 "2012-09-07T04:47:02Z")
Well I dunno, SNL would have stayed funny at least a while longer. So, my lulz are diminished. _pew_pew_pew_ _I can see Russia from my house!_ ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-better-off-now/633954/3 "2012-09-07T17:35:48Z")
> [@Curiosity\_Kills\_Her](#): > > Well I dunno, SNL would have stayed funny at least a while longer. So, my lulz are diminished. > > _pew_pew_pew_ _I can see Russia from my house!_ _The Daily Show_ is still funny, tho. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-better-off-now/633954/4 "2012-09-07T18:37:03Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > . . . than you would be if McCain/Palin had won in 2008? > > Yes, you are. I can understand running a 2012 campaign about the flaming wreck of the Bush administration, but srsly? A campaign slogan running against a ticket that lost four years ago? Maybe George HW Bush should have used this line against Clinton in '92: “Mondale: he really got crushed four years ago!” McCain could have used this line against Obama: “Kerry, what a flip-flopper! Didja see that ad with him windsurfing? That ruled.” ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-better-off-now/633954/5 "2012-09-07T19:18:34Z")
If the OP is referring to the general Republican approach to the economy, I think it’s a valid point. I think it also stands up if it’s comparing the leadership qualities of Obama and McCain, which would also apply to Obama/Romney. So the OP gets my stamp of approval, whatever that’s worth. Besides, I got a laugh out of it.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-better-off-now/633954/6 "2012-09-07T19:44:53Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I can understand running a 2012 campaign about the flaming wreck of the Bush administration, but srsly? A campaign slogan running against a ticket that lost four years ago? “Are you better off now than you were 4 years ago?” is a standard **Pub** line this cycle – I’m simply providing the most-appropriate response. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-better-off-now/633954/7 "2012-09-07T19:50:09Z")
Yes. For instance we aren’t a Chinese territory, we didn’t start a firestorm in the Middle East, and Sarah Palin doesn’t wake up every morning saying “Is he still alive?..damn!” ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-better-off-now/633954/8 "2012-09-07T19:56:18Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > “Are you better off now than you were 4 years ago?” is a standard **Pub** line this cycle – I’m simply providing the most-appropriate response. The buying power of my income is WAY down due to the falling US dollar. Not sure if McCain could have done better, but I am not better off now than 4 years ago. Not by a long shot. I earn my salary in a foreign currency that is at a fixed exchange rate to the US dollar. But I must convert large portions of that salary to a different floating currency for spending purposes for our family. (My economic life is complicated). My buying power is down 24%. Just my data point. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-better-off-now/633954/9 "2012-09-07T20:00:59Z")
Any chance this thread was inspired by the Romney campaign’s attempt at promoting (RE: paying to make it trend) the Twitter hashtag #areyoubetteroff? [As you can see from this article,](http://www.buzzfeed.com/tommywilhelm/how-romney-learned-the-hard-truth-about-promoted-h) that attempt has backfired on him big time, with 5 to 1 people using the hashtag to say that Yes, they are. ---
**Author:** ![Carmady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f04885/32.png) [@Carmady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carmady)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-better-off-now/633954/10 "2012-09-07T20:14:14Z")
If only Obama hadn’t spent the beginning of his 4 years shutting down Paul Ryan’s GM plant (Dec 2008) and bankrupting Lehman Brothers (Sept 15 2008), he might have had an easier time after his inauguration on January 20, 2009. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-better-off-now/633954/11 "2012-09-07T20:14:42Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > “Are you better off now than you were 4 years ago?” is a standard **Pub** line this cycle – I’m simply providing the most-appropriate response. I’m saying that responding to the question by bringing McCain/Palin into it is a bad response. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-better-off-now/633954/12 "2012-09-07T20:19:19Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > . . . than you would be if McCain/Palin had won in 2008? > > Yes, you are. Only slightly. The very _most_ you could posit for Red composition of _Congress_ under this scenario is the one we have now, without the Republicans in control of the Senate, which would limit the ability of the GOP House and McCain to do damage (in that order.) Best case, Democratic control of both branches of Congress continues, and we’d be pretty much where we are today. ETA: well, I would at least, not being affected by the ACA as of yet. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-better-off-now/633954/13 "2012-09-07T20:25:34Z")
> [@Iggy](#): > > Just my data point. A data point of my own then. When Obama was elected, I was unemployed having been laid off from a job where I was making less than $35k a year. I now have a job making over $60k with better benefits at a company with a better footing and no danger of layoffs anytime soon. My wife is making about 30% more now than she was at the time Obama took office. So yeah, we’re definitely better off. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-better-off-now/633954/14 "2012-09-07T21:09:10Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > . . . When Obama was elected, I was unemployed having been laid off from a job where I was making less than $35k a year. > > I now have a job making over $60k with better benefits at a company with a better footing and no danger of layoffs anytime soon. . . . I was unemployed…and still am…but because jobs actually are being created, I’m better off because I have fewer competitors for each job opening! ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-better-off-now/633954/15 "2012-09-07T22:11:08Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > A data point of my own then. A data point of mine. My income is down 21%. I’m at the same job I was when Obama became president. My companys’ revenue went down so it was either take a pay cut or go find a job somewhere else. My specific job market as a whole has lost revenue so finding another job would probably mean makeing less than I do now after the pay cut. So I am definitely not better off. ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-better-off-now/633954/16 "2012-09-07T22:33:45Z")
Seems to me this could be answered as a math question. The slope of the tangent to the curve is becoming better than it was four years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-better-off-now/633954/17 "2012-09-07T22:41:28Z")
My data point. I am making 2/3rds what I was making three and a half years ago. My husband, who works for a non-profit, saw his wage increase for the last two years instead of the two years previous to that of increased work hours with no corresponding pay increase. My kids now have healthcare when they didn’t before. All in all, net better for my family. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-better-off-now/633954/18 "2012-09-07T23:59:30Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > I was unemployed…and still am…but because jobs actually are being created, I’m better off because I have fewer competitors for each job opening! Well, at least that’s a form of hope. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2012, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-better-off-now/633954/19 "2012-09-08T00:09:54Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > “Are you better off now than you were 4 years ago?” is a standard **Pub** line this cycle – I’m simply providing the most-appropriate response. Which is an incredibly bad campaign slogan. The last thing the Romney campaign should be doing is reminding people that four years ago _George Bush was President of the United States_. Seems hard to believe now but it’s true. It feels like it happened so long ago. But when you remember how fucked up things were when Bush was President it really makes you appreciate Obama. Which probably wasn’t the theme the Romney campaign was aiming at. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2012, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-better-off-now/633954/20 "2012-09-08T00:33:50Z")
> [@Iggy](#): > > The buying power of my income is WAY down due to the falling US dollar. Not sure if McCain could have done better, but I am not better off now than 4 years ago. Not by a long shot. > > I earn my salary in a foreign currency that is at a fixed exchange rate to the US dollar. But I must convert large portions of that salary to a different floating currency for spending purposes for our family. (My economic life is complicated). > > My buying power is down 24%. > > Just my data point. Falling against what? From [here](http://www.x-rates.com/historical/?from=EUR&amount=1.00&date=2009-01-20) 1 Euro was worth 1.29 dollars 1/20/09, and worth 1.28 dollars today. If you are dealing with China, that is a different story, and about time. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-better-off-now/633954.md?page=2)