Are we better off now than we were on January 20, 2009?

[BlueCheese]

I'm curious what everyone thinks. You can answer the question either from your own point of view, as in, are you personally better off (however you define that), or in the collective, as in whether you think the country as a whole is better off.

I answer yes to both versions myself.

[ucrdem]

1. Oh heck yeah. Take for example US employment to 2014

as I happen to have a link handy:



Obama took office in the middle of a crash. Things got worse, then they started getting better, and next year will be better still. Here's a more dramatic view of the last decade:



from: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2014/nov/09/barack-obama/obama-2009-us-has-created-more-jobs-every-other-ad/

[RandySF]

2. Well

My relatives still have jobs thanks to the auto rescue. That may technically be the status quo, but it could have gone to hell very quickly.

[redstateblues]

3. Without a doubt

[dana_b]

4. yes

Economically we are in a better place (not for everyone, but for some) and I know that the ACA is a step in the right direction.

[winter is coming]

5. No. I'm not even remotely "better off" than I was on 1/20/2009.

And I'm not alone in that.

[RandySF]

6. My retirement accounts were in negative territory at the end of 2008

[PowerToThePeople]

7. No and no.

eom

[AllTooEasy]

8. Hell Fucking Yeah I am!

I was one of the millions of people who were laid off on Jan. 20, 2009. I lost my job in Oct. 2008, a month when 400,000 Americans were laid off.

Now, I'm making 6 figures as a secure network engineer(and "No", I don't work for the DNC...or want to). My wife is an environmental engineer, makes %35 more than she did in early 2009, and also makes more than me. Both of us are getting weekly recurring requests by recruiters who try to lure us away to "better opportunities". She gets more calls than me. Both of our rental houses have good tenants and have been paid off since 2009. We have close friends and family members who are gay, married, and happy. It's not even close.

Life isn't perfect. My taxes and health insurance costs went up...boo-freaking-who! The increased taxation for our income bracket has helped to decrease the annual deficit every year since 2010. My increased insurance premium has indirectly contributed to subsidized health care for folks who would otherwise have none. I'll survive...trust me.

As for the country overall - yes. I am fully aware that the "progress" is not evenly distributed across regions, occupations, or races. We still have challenges with climate control, crime, military deployments, education cost, and social causes. For example(and there are MANY!), the LGBT community has benefited greatly since 2009. The Latino community has benefited in a few immigration-related policy changes. For us Blacks(overall), the social progress has been disappointing at best. Whites better NOT complain to me about Obama. When taking employment, personal wealth, and income growth into consideration - Obama been the best president White Americans ever had! And yet, he polls lowest with Whites - pure fucking racism!

If you contracted a terminal disease, lost a limb, or suffered the death of a loved one to terrorism/mass shootings/cops/military deployment/etc. since 2009, then I can see how you would say that Jan. 20th 2009 was a better day than today. On the other hand, to say that Jan. 20th, 2009 was a better day for our country than any day the past 4-6 years is mind numbing naive and/or stupid.

[Juicy_Bellows]

9. I'd say I'm ok.

All the victims of perpetual war, not so much.

[NurseJackie]

10. Yes! Most definitely! <3

[BlueCheese]

11. Thanks for the answers, everyone!

[AgingAmerican]

12. When we were bleeding 600,000 jobs a month?

That's a pretty low bar.

[FSogol]

13. Me and my family all are better off. n/t

[zappaman]

14. Yes. n/t

[mcar]

15. Yes

[samplegirl]

16. Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Found a job and have been working although my husband took a huge paycut. Was able to sell my home and build a nice ranch.

[LWolf]

17. That's complicated.

I am not personally better off. I'm much worse. I no longer have a retirement account, I make less, making my mortgage 45% of my income, my old mobile home will no longer pass inspection to sell this place, and I clearly can't afford to replace it, rents and property have sky-rocketed so that just renting a modest house would equal my mortgage here, my vehicle is 7 years older and, at 100K miles, is going to need something besides oil changes and tires at some point that I dread...I'm much worse off.

My region is much worse. It crashed and recovery has been way behind the national curve. It is coming along now; real-estate has heated up to the point that both buying and renting is well beyond the means of many of our working residents, including me. The number of homeless students in my classroom has increased, not decreased, every year.

My elderly mother, who lives on SS and some dividends in stock that were left to her in trust...now lives on SS alone. The stocks fell so low the trust sold them to pay its fees.

Nationally? The middle class has shrunk, continues to shrink, while the number of people at the bottom and top of the spectrum has grown.

Economically I don't consider us better off.

As a teacher, having dealt with RTTT, I know our educational system is not better off.

I don't feel like our young people have more opportunities now than in '09, but I don't have data for that. It's just an impression. Of course, I do teach them, and talk to them daily about their plans after high school, and I DO see too many former students, bright students with a world of potential, working fast food, pumping gas, and hauling shopping carts out of parking lots after graduating from high school.

I'm not feeling like we're better off. If you, and others, are, that's a good thing, that at least some people are.

[BlueCheese]

19. Thank you for this reply.

I hope things get better for you soon-- I know that's a useless thing for me to say, but I do mean it sincerely.

I understand that even in the best of times (which these aren't), some people won't be doing well. And even in the worst of times, some people will be doing well. It's never that simple.

I can also relate to what you say about rents and home prices outpacing jobs. My part of the country has seen ridiculous increases in the cost of housing, and even though the job market here is strong, I wonder how there can be so many people who can afford to live here.

[hobbit709]

18. Personally, no. And about 90% of the people I know are in the same situation or worse off than me.

[Yavin4]

20. For me, most definitely.

I went from being unemployed in Jan. 2009 to being employed full time since 2010, and now, I'm making the most money that I have ever made.

[jwirr]

21. Personally I am not better off. And I think that much of the

country is just holding its own. We are not getting better we are just not falling as fast.

[Vinca]

22. I am a million per cent better off.

If I hadn't gotten into the Obamacare pre-existing condition pool I don't know if I could have survived 3 additional years of pain until I had Medicare. My hip was totally kaput and I could barely walk. No one will ever know how much President Obama changed my life for the better. Financially, we're better off, too, since the housing market has improved (husband in real estate-related profession) and I'm once again able to go on the hunt for antiques and collectibles for resale.