Are you doing better now than you were eight years ago?

[NNN0LHI]

[rox63]

1. Not just "No" - Hell No!

eom

[baldguy]

2. Where's the choice for "curled up in a dark corner sobbing"?

[trof]

55. Next to 'under the bed, chewing on a towel'.

[gateley]

3. I am worse off than I have been in my entire life --

I've never had trouble finding a job before. It's gotten to the point that I'm scared.

[NNN0LHI]

6. Not to be nosy but how old are you?

The reason I ask is I have been in your position several times throughout my 53 years.

Funny thing it was always when Republicans were in the White House.

Don

[gateley]

21. I'm 55. (had to count to make sure I didn't add or subtract a year)

I'm sorry that you've been through this before. It sucks and it's frightening. Hope you're doing okay now! :pals:

[NNN0LHI]

22. Thank you I am good now but the Reagan years were murder

Trying to raise kids and all with no money and no job.

Hope things improve for you real soon.

Don

[gateley]

24. I can't even imagine what it would be like

with kids. SO glad you're doing better now - you've earned some relief from the fears. :hi:

[eridani]

73. Now, why do I suspect that ageism might be a culprit here?

[annabanana]

80. naw... I think

it's just a matter of "how long have you been trying to assemble some security?"

[MrCoffee]

4. I am...but then, 8 years ago I was still working my way through college

I'm assuming that you are asking whether we are doing better financially now than 8 years ago.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

5. About the same. Just older and more cynical.

[Initech]

16. Same here.

I cant blame my age on President Stupid Jackass, but I can certainly blame my cynicism on him!

[slackmaster]

7. In most ways, definitely not

I'm making about $10 K per year less, and everything costs more.

The only bright spots are that in the intervening years I have paid off the debt I incurred as a result of my divorce, and a refinance has put me on track to have my house paid off about 11 years earlier at a much lower interest rate.

I've saved a considerable amount of money, but from paycheck to paycheck I am close to sucking wind.

[exothermic]

8. Yes, in spite of Bushco...certainly not with their help.

:shrug:

[ComtesseDeSpair]

9. Eight Years Ago... The Good Old Days...

Eight years ago I had such a surplus of money that I could travel across the country every month and still have plenty left over. These days, I literally count pennies to pay for food between paychecks and traveling home to visit my family is completely out of the question. I definitely take the "curled up in a dark corner sobbing" option.

[Sheets of Easter]

10. Financially, after a 7+ year funk, I am finally on the up again.

Like I said, it took seven years to bounce back from a major paycut and eventual layoff. That includes taking different jobs at lower pay. In terms of salary and adjusted for inflation, I'm now where I was in 2000.

[japple]

11. Yes, but only because two family members died and I

received an inheritance. But at the rate the economy is tanking, my stocks, bonds are rapidly declining in value.

[RaleighNCDUer]

26. Sorry to hear that -

it's a steep price for a little financial security.

[Chimichurri]

12. We're making more money but with the price of food and gas, we're

actually seeing less of it then we did in 2001.

[Double T]

13. No. The bush presidency has resulted in the complete destruction of America.

No one is doing better UNLESS they want to see the demise of our nation.

[Wwagsthedog]

14. Barely staying even so I can't say yes or no.

That said, the future looks somewhat grim after the disaster of the past 8 years. There is a lot of fixing that needs to be done after a successful November outcome.

[KharmaTrain]

15. Yes And No

In the 90's, I was busy running my own business and helping others with theirs. A little schmuck like me could start up with a modest investment or get a reasonable loan and stand a good chance of making a go. The only limits were how hard one wanted to work. And work I did...seeing a dream turn into a paycheck and then into a commodity someone else found of value. After this regime came into power I immediately saw that these days were soon to come to an end...the dot com bust and "deregulation" made the offers too good to refuse and I cashed out...hoping to find a new challenge and build from there. 7 years later and I'm still waiting.

[Madam Mossfern]

18. Much, much worse off

We're now having to prioritize our options for what we need. The dishwasher died..we've opted out of replacing it. My husband is in retail of a product that is not a basic necessity. We now can count the orders for the week on one hand. We are struggling to make ends meet. Our son who just graduated college is back at home with us and can't find a full time job. We have another son still in college and the tuition is outrageous! OUr daughter is in graduate school and we try to help her out whenever we can. None of this was an issue eight years ago. As a matter of fact we were considering buying a second vacation home. Now we cringe whenever we pick up the mail because we know it will be filled with bills that we are having difficulty paying. Our property taxes are $20,000/year!

We've seriously considered selling our home and finding an apartment. We were hoping to stay and enjoy our grandchildren here, but it seems very likely that won't happen.

[KharmaTrain]

30. Just Remember What Has The Most Value

I consider myself damn lucky...I got out right as my industry began to really go down the tubes and have been able to do consulting work that more than takes care of my needs. But that wasn't always the case...it wasn't long ago that there was too much month left over at the end of the money...and one can't look around without hearing one sad story or another about financial problems. We're in some serious stagflation right now that gets worse as the prices rise and because things are bad prices continue to rise. It's a cycle this regime won't even admit...so don't expect any relief anytime soon. I was just reading a post by Naomi Klein who calls what going on this regime's final extortions...making us feel pain so we'll capitulate on letting boooshie's oil buddies drill as they see fit. Sadly...I see Democrats rolling already.

Here's my sincere deepest wishes that things get better for you and your family. I also have a "dependent" in college and one who graduated (fortunately she's found a job), but she is not happy with conditions and is thinking grad school. We've had to do a lot of cutting back here on our travel and spending this year as I don't see an upturn anytime soon. It wasn't long ago that I looked at a $50k year as being a good one...now it's barely breaking even. I can't see how others with less resources and opportunities are able to make it.

Hang in there...hopefully my pesmimism is way off and things will begin to rebound soon. I do feel that this is a needed "correction" and if it brings to end this age of greed and arrogance...if it makes this nation more compassionate...then it may be may just be a better world for those grandchildren of yours.

Cheers...

[yellowdogintexas]

17. yeah income is higher but it doesn't go as far.

personally as an individual I seem to be stuck at the same hourly wage, roughly since 1998. The difference has come in my spouse's income which increased dramatically when the price of oil rose (talk about your ironies of life, there) because as a petroleum geologist, he is now IN DEMAND and because he LOVES to sit wells and do well site work and is willing to go weird places, he is staying employed.

Our financial difficulties of the 1980's were caused by oil crashing, it took most of the 1990's to recover by him changing careers and us moving to a larger metropolitan area and now he is back in oil and making a good living. That which supports us is by great irony doing great harm to so many others and in all conscience we both bemoan that. I hate what his good fortune is doing to the underserved and underpaid of this nation.

[tammywammy]

19. Yes, much better

I've been promoted and given a hefty raise and I purchased my first home a year ago.

[Cleita]

20. To that I will add, hell no!

Being I'm on a fixed income, I am not getting more income, actually less, but am also having to pay more.

[RaleighNCDUer]

23. I'm making considerably more money now than I was 8 years ago

but somehow it feels like its not going as far.

8 years ago I could take the occasional vacation - haven't had one in 5 years.
I had a monthly ritual of treating myself to a good restaurant meal - stopped that 6 years ago.
I could jump in the car and drive to the beach or the mountains on a long weekend - can't afford that now, even if I wasn't working the 2nd job that forbids long weekends.

Curious, isn't it?

[mnhtnbb]

34. post wrong place.

[China_cat]

25. 8 years ago the amount taken out for taxes

was the amount we're now bringing home. (Actually, a little bit more)

Two years with no job...all savings and anything else we could scrape together, gone so as not to lose the house or the car and be able to eat and keep the lights on.

Retirement? Not a chance. The only way we'll be able to make ends meet is for my husband to work until he's at least 70.

[ContraBass Black]

27. Just completed a good education paid for by parents who came from little

And worked hard while living modestly for decades. It's going pretty well for us.

[EFerrari]

28. Two members of my family are an inch away from foreclosure.

I don't remember things being this bad since Reagan.

[PatSeg]

29. Much worse

and I see it all around me. One thing we've noticed lately is more and more people are letting their yards go to hell. So many neighborhoods have been transformed in a very short period of time.

[NNN0LHI]

33. more and more people are letting their yards go to hell

Thats the first sign of distress. I walk my dog past some $300,000+ houses where they have started to let their until recently perfectly manicured yards go to the weeds. Kind of depressing.

I think the yard service is the first thing they cancel when money gets tight.

Don

[slackmaster]

39. We have a drought in my area

We may have mandatory water rationing in the near future.

[NNN0LHI]

40. We have had more water than we know what to do with around here

Just a bag of weed and feed is all these yards I speak of need.

And to be cut regularly.

Don

[PatSeg]

65. Really?

Have you gotten a lot of rain? I'm originally from Illinois, but moved to California a few years ago. There is NO rain here in the summer time and constant rain in the winter.

[NNN0LHI]

82. Weather patterns have changes here

My lawn used to be browned out by now without a lot of hose watering.

Last few years it stays green all summer with minimal hose watering.

Don

[PatSeg]

84. I didn't know that

I have relatives in your neck of the woods, but I haven't heard from them in a while.

I'm starting to miss summer rain, but I'll never miss IL winters!

[PatSeg]

64. Exactly

And pride of ownership is gone around here, as there is little incentive to maintain property that one might not be able to keep. I'm also seeing lots of "For Sale" signs.

[Rainbowreflect]

31. I never like this question that much.

I personally am doing somewhat better financially, but that is because I really had no where to go but up and I worked my ass off putting myself through school and moving up at with my current employer. But it does not make up for what my beloved country has lost over the last 8 years. The erosion of our civil rights, the loss of good jobs, the destruction of the environment, the skyrocketing price of health care, the death of thousands of our young men and women, as well as countless civilians in Iraq. It does not ease my anger and frustration at this evil administration.

[GreenPartyVoter]

32. Mentally and emotionally, no. Financially, about the same. Maybe slightly better.

[Throd]

35. For now, it keeps getting better.

[mnhtnbb]

36. 8 years ago I looked forward to the future with great joy. Now I only

worry about the future.

In the last 8 years:

My mother died; I moved my father to NC from CA and watched him age to 91 and die.

My oldest son graduated high school and declined to go to college, got a job and moved out.
He's been laid off twice in 3 years and quit an intervening job. He has one month to go
to be moved from probationary to permanent status in his current job. We've used the money we would have given him for college to help him buy a townhouse and furnishings. He's responsible for the mortgage, insurance, taxes.

Our home and 99% of what was in it burned down last August. We fought with the insurance company
and the bank. We had to hire a public adjuster to get the insurance company to make a reasonable
settlement; 10% of the final settlement went to the public adjuster and we had to pay for demolition of the house out of pocket. We were seriously underinsured for contents.

Hubby works 3 days a week for several county mental health clinics in NC. "Mental health reform"has been a disaster in NC. We expect the money for the clinics to dry up at any time, in which case
retirement for him will probably have arrived (he's 65).

We have had to dip into savings to pay property and income taxes for several years now.
Up until about 9-10 years ago, I always put money into savings for us first thing each month.
I haven't done that now in years.

Money that we'd saved for our boys' college education has long ago been spent on lessons,
therapy, private school, summer trips for them. Our youngest son was awarded a significant
scholarship for use at UNC-Chapel Hill where he'll attend in the fall. Thankfully, we'll only need to pay his room & board; money his grandmother left him will pay for his books. He has a part-time job
to earn spending money.

Two weeks ago our elderly dog, Tanya, was peacefully put to sleep by the vet.

When I think about the last 8 years, I feel a tremendous sense of loss. We are adding on/remodeling
a much smaller house that we've bought to replace the one that burned. We hope to have it finished by the time our lease is up here mid-September. I don't have a sense of anticipation for our empty-nest; I wonder whether we'll be here in Chapel Hill or in Panama (where we've been trying to create a small retirement home/escape since 2005)or going back and forth.

[LanternWaste]

37. In the nineties...

In the nineties (and once out of state job I couldn't take for personal reasons), I had a stable and secure job with consistent raises, bonuses, great health benefits, sick-time, Vacations time, PTO, and nearby same-type businesses actively recruiting me.

For the past eight years (with the exception of an 18 month hiatus), I've worked in the same office with the ever present threat of "do more for less" hanging over my head. No sick time, no health insurance, less absolute pay, more responsibility, two promotions yet one raise, with more stress.

Yeah... I'm doing a lot better these days :sarcasm:

I'm hoping Obama can help us bring a little of the nineties back... :)

[carlyhippy]

38. I make more money, but I am more broke than 8 years ago

putting a kid thru college, credit cards, a new vehicle, yeah, I am not doing better.

[Wiley50]

41. 8 years ago I was married, owned a quarter mil lake house with 2 sailboats at my dock

Now I'm divorced, camped out in a derelict sailboat miles from any body of water.

Thanks Bushies!

[slackmaster]

43. Sounds like you are indeed better off

Divorced is better than married to the wrong person.

[Wiley50]

48. Yes. At Least that part is better

but I sure do miss my home

[comradebillyboy]

42. Yes, my mortgage is paid off,

my cars are paid for, I have money in the bank, no debts and plan on retiring comfortably in 2 years.

[Blue Diadem]

44. No. Income is 2/3 of what it was 8 yrs ago.

Meanwhile everything else has increased.

[kineneb]

45. no - medical bankruptcy, death of spouse...welcome to food stamps

-no cash assets left
-no income, living off help from family- got all expenses down to $750/month (excluding food and gasoline)
-get food stamps and medical assistance
-not much hope that things will get better

[lumberjack_jeff]

46. Are you f'ing kidding? n/t

[Zywiec]

47. Someone better DU this poll

I didn't think anyone was doing better than they were 8 years ago.

:shrug:

[MedleyMisty]

49. Eight years ago I was 19

And working at Arby's and living at home. So yeah, I'm doing better now.

[ccvirgo911]

50. Worst period of my life

Eight years ago-
I was married, we had just bought our first house, my kids were happy and healthy, marriage was relatively good.
In 2003, husband started having an affair, divorce was filed.
In 2004, I moved out with my oldest son, my son Chris stayed with his father. Ryan and I rented a house less than a mile from our old house, to stay close to Chris.
In 2006, finally got a good job and was recovering from the divorce.
In 2007, bought my first house on my own, things were going good.
On November 8, 2007, I got my dream job, working in the court system for a judge.
At 9:00 pm that night, my precious son Christopher was riding his bike from my house to his dad's on a well lit street that had a light he could cross at on his bike. As he started across, a drunk fleeing the police hit him going 90 mph. He held on for an hour, and we lost him. He was 17 years old.
Now, I don't work, I don't live really. Just exist. The only bright spot was getting to see Barrack Obama a couple of weeks ago when he came to Independence. Great experience, but bittersweet too, because in my many talks with Chris, he was so excited to be able to vote this year. He would have turned 18 on May 19.
So, no, not better off. I was so looking forward to this year, volunteering again for the campaign and getting involved. As of now, I don't know if I will be able to, even though I know how important it is. I always wanted a better country for my boys, and I have lost one of them who would have benefited from it.

[marions ghost]

62. "all this and George Bush too...."

is what I've been saying all these years

:hug: I've had 3 untimely deaths in my family during these last 8 years and other lesser disasters...I know what you've gone through. When your own life is falling apart it sure doesn't help to feel like the whole country is falling apart as well. These times have been extremely stressful for so many, an ordeal just to have lived under this brutal regime.

I hope you'll decide to work for the campaign--for your sake, for your son Ryan, for Chris in memory, and for all the rest of us. We have to turn this thing around.

[brentspeak]

70. My condolences for your loss

Prayers for you and your family

[Name removed]

51. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[DFW]

52. Well, that shouldn't difficult to calculate

My tax rate has remained the same, and I now have two girls in US colleges
where I pick up full tuition and board. My day-to-day living expenses are
in euros. I have received a 16.6667% pay rise in that period. My take home
pay in euros has declined 60%. Gas is $9 a gallon, and my living expenses
have pretty much doubled.

Plus, since in my position as an American abroad, I was getting asked all the time,
"Hey if Clinton can't run again, can we have him?" Now, it's "how could have
you people let such an asshole be president, and then after he'd been a massive
fuck-up in his first term, put him BACK???"

OK, I guess I'd take my situation 8 years ago.

[NeedleCast]

53. Yes

Although I don't give Bush any credit for that. Eight years ago I was a Private First Class in the army, pretty much everything is better than being a private.

[XOKCowboy]

54. Actually about the same...

In 2000 the company I was working for was at the top of their game. I was traveling the country constantly, working many huge shows, the industry was booming. I was still working for somebody else though and without the overtime (and profit sharing that was soon to be yanked from me) I'd have been hurting.

After 9/11 the industry tanked, hours and shows plummeted but we were lucky enough to have a job. Many companies in our industry folded. It's taken 8 years for the industry to finally get back close to it's pre-9/11 levels and now the gas crisis is killing it again. I'm now working freelance and making more money than I ever have but now have to pay huge medical insurance bills. So as I said...

About the same except I don't have the headaches that come with working at a faltering company. Now I just work for them now and again. :)

[Blue_In_AK]

56. On a personal level, yes,

because I'm no longer married to my abusive, drug- and alcohol-addicted ex-husband, but on a national/international level, I'm pretty depressed. I just don't have a whole lot of hope for the human race. We don't really have much time to right our course, and people are still stuck taking the slow approach to fixing problems.

[skooooo]

57. yes, but only because of a fluke of luck

[Greyhound]

58. From a have to a have nothing in less than a decade. n/t

[Geek_Girl]

59. Yes in the sense I make more money

But I have had to Job hop several times in the last couple of years just to get a decent pay increase and I'm currently contracting which means employment can disappear at any moment. Also my mother has moved in with me because she can't afford the cost of living, her only income being SS. So my disposable income has actually decreased with the cost of utilities and food. It's not easy taking care of my family and I make pretty good money and my husband works as well. I honestly don't know how most families are getting by these days.

[lonestarnot]

60. Well I wasn't crazy back then.

:crazy: Does that count?

[DailyGrind51]

61. I retrained for a new career!

I returned to graduate school to become certified to teach, earning my second graduate degree, only to learn that a lot of other displaced workers in Illinois did the same thing and the last thing school districts wanted was a 57 year-old with two masters degrees (contractually, they are forced to pay more for more education) for an entry level teaching position. Fortunately, the district I "subbed" for, while taking classes, hired me as an assistant so, at least, I have great group health coverage (I have a cancer history).

Fortunately, the house is paid off, but to afford to live on my salary, I do without a lot of things. I don't use my car during the summer, but carry my groceries in my old gym bag. Great for cardio, though! I know things could be much worse, I could be without health insurance. At least I can afford my yearly tumor marker tests. Since I can't afford to hire people, I do my own concrete and electrical work on the house. I work on the car too. I tried getting back into my old field, but have been away too long and no one is interested.

My parents lived through the Great Depression and I am grateful that they taught me to appreciate the little things in life, a great newspaper article, a conversation with a friend, an e-mail from an old girlfriend, a bargain matinee, adding up the money I save each time I "do it myself", a quiet evening when I don't have to think about the job offers I no longer receive.

I'm not doing better. I'm doing bitter, big time!:mad:

[lynettebro440]

63. I was stuck in FL in 2001

decided to move back to the midwest after all the shit that happened where I was living in FL. I came back home to my adult kids with 27k and a ton of bills. It was way harder to find a substantial job in the midwest compared to southern florida, so I started making pretty much what I'm making now. I had what I hauled back in my little civic car which wasn't much. It was really hard and I kind of look back on those days with thanks because it has prepared me pretty much for what is happening now. I didn't have a pot to pee in but I have at least secured myself well. Old beat up car is paid for, living with my son and moving in september with my daughter. I'm renting, don't want or need a house again.

I work at the same place my son now works, big insurance company, means we make the same amount of money, that's sad. I'm by far the oldest person at my job and it's hard and strenuous but it's a job and it has great benefits and insurance.

So am I better off, I was pretty crappy back then and I'm pretty crappy now but I have a roof over my head and a car that is still running that takes me to a job. I feel better off then most I guess.

[dysfunctional press]

66. DEFINITELY. MUCH MUCH better, in fact.

no question about it.

[varelse]

67. I'm doing better

the nation is not.

[lpbk2713]

68. I'm 'feeling' better now that January is getting a lot closer.

But 'doing' better? Hell no.

I want those assholes tried and convicted.

[Yupster]

69. Much better off

House paid off. So's everything else.

Good job with god future.

Kid doing well. Only problem is marriage not doing well, and probably isn't going to get better.

[galledgoblin]

71. hard to judge (n/t)

[hunter]

72. Eight years ago I still worried about paying my debts.

I don't worry anymore.

What's going to hold the U.S. economy up when the middle class is gone and the majority of people don't give a crap about credit ratings?

[Bobbie Jo]

74. I'm not doing any better now than 8 days ago....

When we start measuring this question in days, weeks and months.

What a freakin mess folks....:eyes:

[RebelOne]

75. Yes, but only because I am collecting social security

and continuing to work full time. But that won't last too much longer. My health is not the best, so I am considering retiring the first of next year.

[hack89]

76. Much better

Got a good job with a good company that pays very well. Regular and generous pay raises.

[Maine-ah]

77. much much worse.

eight years ago, we were financially stable, bought our first house, had plenty of money. Secure middle income.


Now? pft. Behind on everything. :mad:

[old mark]

78. I am for sure, but it was nothing to do with the economy,

or even the astute leadership of the President (JOKE!), but I guess fate, or what you will. We found we unexpectedly had enough money so that I did not have to work as long as I thought, and I was just at the earliest point I could retire with a small pension, so I did.
Retired at age 59 in May of '07.
I love every day now, although I am still recovering from a lifetime of idiot people and horrible bosses.
But things are improving every day, and I have never had a better time.
Been losing weight, getting some exercise and de-stressing, and just enjoying everything as never before in my life. Even my wife's health has improved considerably, and she is very happy to have me home.


mark

[annabanana]

79. We are treading water, always...

Even the more comfortable among us are one measly serious accident or illness away from serious trouble.

What happens when your medical insurance maxes out?

[spinbaby]

81. Not as well

We're still working at the same jobs, living in the same house, putting another kid through school. Our finances should be about the same but we're feeling pinched. Gas is a big part of the equation because we have three people driving to school or work.

[leftynyc]

83. In terms of what exactly?

Financially, yes, I am better off. I much prefer the question is the country better off? Anyone who says yes is a liar.