POLL: Are You Better or Worse Off Than 4 Years Ago?

Kim T. October 4, 2011 at 06:43 pm

To RMGHicks - I currently work for a fairly large corporation. Our CEO made $20 million last year, we are highly profitable but 200 people were laid off last week - and more to come in January. We have offices in China and are told to send them test methods, formulas and other proprietary information because China is an 'emerging market'. Well the Chinese have knocked off a number of our products and customers are now telling us to meet the Chinese prices or they won't buy from us any longer. I see and live this every, single day - corporate profits skyrocketing and our jobs going to China. I, for one, am looking to extricate myself from this predicament. I am doing the same as I was 5 years ago but I know there's a better way and it doesn't have the word 'Corporation' after it. My sons were down at the protests and I hope to add my voice this weekend.
I also think anyone who believes that only one party is to blame is short sighted. That is absurd and instead of raking the Dems or Reps over the coals - we should be banding together and demanding accountability and working for real change. I have zero hope or faith in that happening though.

jo October 4, 2011 at 06:54 pm

ask we comment..we can blame dodd and frank for their new regualtions on the banks now causing BOA to add on new charges..those two should resign..they are accountable for so much disastor ....less gov is best..less is more... we are over regulated to the max..the micro managing by this administration is a job killer for sure..the proof is all around us... Sylandra anyone ??

jo October 4, 2011 at 07:50 pm

the crowd at Wall Street has issued their demands.. two of them are beyond the pale.. they want open borders for all..they want forgivness of all outstanding loans ..they are like children demanding desert before dinner... they are ridculous..

Ross Revira October 4, 2011 at 08:38 pm

Rk, I feel your pain but it is precisely your fellow Democrats that have put us behind the eight ball. High gasoline prices are the direct result of limiting drilling and failure to build a new refinery in 30 years. With the rise of gasoline costs food prices have to go because fuel is needed to grow and transport the product. Property taxes go up because of the generous compensation awarded to the municipal workers who's unions support the Democrats. Healthcare costs are skyrocketing because all the new mandates of Obamacare plus the defensive medicine doctors have to practice to protect themselves from malpractice lawsuits filed by the trial lawyers who happen to be the largest financial contributors to the Democrat Party. With your cockeyed thinking I see why you are one paycheck away from financial disaster considering you are a professional with a graduate degree. Your problem can only be solved if you would take your partisan blinders off and see the world as it is and not what you have been indoctrinated to believe.

BUGSPOP October 4, 2011 at 08:43 pm

There are not enough hours in a day to work to make enough money to pay the bills

Ross Revira October 4, 2011 at 10:07 pm

rk you are obviously fed up with the state of our country. I agree with much of what you now say. I am not a Tea Party supporter especially the group that Bill Bongiorno heads but I believe like the Tea Party we cannot continue to spend money we do not have. Take the money away from the politicians and we can minimize the damage they create. As for the news media they can only succeed in the disharmony you refer to only if our schools continue to not educate our children. Blame the teachers union and their partners in the Democrat Party in snuffing out any new ideas in public education. Victims of society or as you put it people "being harvested" is the direct result of the cradle to grave mentality of the average American.

scott hauser October 4, 2011 at 10:20 pm

Quite simply, Oprah, and about 95% of the American Population Loved this Guy!!!
I will be short and Sweet---He is totally lost, and the streets in America will be overcome by people who LOVED Him) But sorry to say , Yup WE KNEW HE WAS A TOTAL AHOLE!!!!----It is only natural ---when the leader is soooooooooooooo over his head!

Tony T October 4, 2011 at 10:37 pm

Although a Republican I voted for Obama thinking he and other Democrats would could and would do more for the "blue collar guy" in these bad economic times. Boy was I wrong...with the possibility of Obama Care my yearly medical insurance already went up $220 and my co-pay $5.00. The 401K is now worth 3/4 of what it was and gas is up over $1.20 from pre Obama. My wife's hours were cut in half and both my brother and nephew were layed off. And the cost of stables such as groceries and dairy have sky rocketed. To paraphrase Obama's campaign slogan "it's time for a change and I hope things get better"!!!

Aidan October 4, 2011 at 11:42 pm

The presidency is no position for experimentation. This president was never qualified under any standards. We have ourselves to blame.

Frazier October 5, 2011 at 12:04 am

Jobs are not outsourced because of tax increases, THAT is a statement of ignorance that gets repeated over and over by Repubs. I travelled to India on business, I have participated in multiple corporate outsourcings to U.S. companies as well as foreign countries. For example a Network Engineer in India is paid 1/10th the wage of a Network Engineer in the United States. 1/10th!!! It is not the TAX difference that makes outsourcing cost effective. It is the gross differences between standards of living from country to country in a global economy. Moving a customer service call center to the Dominican Republic in 2002 cost 10 cents on the dollar compared to operating it in both U.S. & Canada. Taxes were NEVER the issue for why U.S. companies outsource to foreign countries.
Add to that that countries like India are putting out more graduates in Science and Engineering than the U.S. and companies are finding the volume of workers they need elsewhere.

Frazier October 5, 2011 at 12:08 am

What a joke. The housing crash occurred in 2007-2008. But let's re-write history in our heads so we can convince ourselves that our party hasn't sold our country up the creek. yeah.. that's right... it's those other guys. LOL

Z October 5, 2011 at 12:09 am

My husband and I have not seen a raise the last few years; yet, our taxes keep going up. My husband's brother was out of work for 4 years and after unemployment stopped he depleted his 401K; my son is graduating college next spring and I am not optimistic at all that he will be able to get a job. Our country sends billions to other countries around the world; yet, our own people are struggling and in dire need.

joe October 5, 2011 at 12:22 am

Hey Mr. Hicks, This is why it's imppossible to argue with you libs. This is what you just said; "easy credit was disguising the deteriorating work conditions and salaries. It was the elasticity brought on by the housing bubble and easy credit that prevented the masses from suffering severely - until Oct. 2008. Now people are angry - but they haven't gotten any smarter. Voting republican is the stupidest thing anyone with an income below the top 5% could do for themselves....yet they fall for the fact-free spin machine over any kind of substance every single time. Never underestimate the stupidity of the American electorate." (end quote)
The "easy credit was voted for by DEMOCRATS. Get It? Not Republicans!....and then you have the ignorance to say "voting republican is the stupidest thing...but they fall" for it every single time." Did you forget that you dopes voted for the Big O? "Never underestimate the stupidity of the electorate" There. I showed the public what a hypocrit, mis informed, lib you are--using your own quotes.

Kim T. October 5, 2011 at 01:47 am

All of this blame, anger and invective is exactly what our government wants. Yes, the more divided we are, the easier we are to control. The less money we have, the more stress we have, the easier we are to control. The more distractions we have, the easier we are to control. The President is a figurehead whether it's George Bush being controlled by Puppet Master Dick Cheney and the NeoCons or the supine, spineless Barack Obama who should have gone Rove on everyone's behinds immediately but sadly did the Kumbaya/Mr. Nice Guy thing.
And instead of realizing how much power we have if we unite, how much we actually have in common and working to take our country back - I surmise most will retreat to the comfort of their chosen pundits and I'll bet money we will be in the same situation regardless of whether a Dem or Rep is elected President in 2012. They have us exactly where they want us and we deserve exactly what we get.

FJT October 5, 2011 at 02:01 am

Lets see now... First month in office the President puts white cop against a racist ignorant black man who was arrested for not providing ID when ordered by police on a burglary call.
Creates a 3 trillion dollar healthcare bill against all americans who want nothing to do with it. added over 4 trillion to the national debt in 2 1/2 yrs. Goes around the world bashing American ideals and principles. He has the navy criminally charge 3 navy seals for giving a terrorist a fat lip who hanged 3 american contractors off a bridge in Iraq. Steals gm and chrysler away from shareholders, violation of 4-6th amendment. spends 800 billion out to banks and over 90 billion to UAW and gives them control of gm, so he can have a reelection slush fund. We are 14 trillion in debt and invades libya in an airwar undeclared by congress at 800 million year to date. NO we are no better off with a black president than w were with President George W Bush. Voting for a man because he is black is racist.....

FJT October 5, 2011 at 02:03 am

oh and over 9.1 percent unemployment highest in history thx barry

NAO October 5, 2011 at 02:34 am

I think I was fine then and I am fine now. I am very lucky and I am very fortunate to have a good job, life, family and friends. I thank God every day for my good fortune.

Mike A October 5, 2011 at 04:29 am

GREAT ANSWARD

Mike A October 5, 2011 at 04:33 am

NAO- i was supposed to tell you this before 5pm today Y O U R F I R E D !!!!!!! tommrow clean out your desk and don't forget the crayons belong to the company

G K October 5, 2011 at 05:41 am

Cheap energy is one of the keys to a country's wealth. Pickens invested multi-millions in wind power. Only to find out it was econmically unprofitable. His wind mills are rusting in warehouses. Coal use to be the second cheapest fuel, gas has now replaced it. Solar is a total diaster. Scandals all over the place. The cheapest fuel is nuclear. All of the scare stories we hear of it rest on 30 and 40 year old technology. The recent improvements are unbelieveable. Many people push socialism, But they cannot name one country which tried it that didn't become a basket case. China is today succeeding because it changed to a capitolistic model. Long ago a wise man stated, "A democracy fails, when its citizens realize that they can vote themselves ever increasing benefits." While it is necessary to increase benefits one cannot go beyond the current national profit level. The TEA party to my understanding means Taxed Enough Already. Today less than 1/2 of our citizens pay taxes. Their votes have been bought by politicians seeking to stay in power. I believe it was in the NY Times where I read, If you took all the money of all of the so called rich, you could run the US for 7 months. If you took all of the profits of the fortune 500 companies, it would take you 174 years to pay off the national debt. Our country is like a family that earns $84,000 a year and spends 134,000. Drastic changes are necessay or neither rich or poor will enjoy the future.

Robbeee J October 5, 2011 at 11:38 am

Am I better off than I was four years ago? Great vague question...are we talking financial, mental, physical, spiritual or what? Personally I'm in better physical, mental, spiritual AND financial shape than I was 4 years ago.

John Anderson October 5, 2011 at 12:35 pm

I've been driving taxi for 17 yrs. While I was better off 4 years ago, business is down slightly, I don't see any possible "turnaround" or "recover", anytime soon. I'm in one of those businesses that did well during the depression. I noticed "A" slowdown in the summer of 2001. Everyone has watched the world become a world economy, and this is the result. Until we start manufacturing goods in this country and using or consuming the same, it will never get better, I see it getting worse as time goes on. The more the Government gets involved, the longer it will take for the true results to be seen. You can't blame Bush nor Obama, this is a worldwide tragedy.

Walt October 5, 2011 at 12:39 pm

The current results of this poll does not bode well for the current administration, especially when you consider the area polled is a solid liberal/democrat demographic.

Clayton October 5, 2011 at 01:37 pm

RMGHick. It's ignorant to say voting Republican is the stupidest thing you can do. You are obviously a die hard brainwashed liberal Democrat. You may not see, but that is just as bad a being a brainwashed far right wing Republican. They are both extremist views, and both have set off bombs against our country. Ben Franklin said it best years ago. "Fear the fanatic, whatever their passion." I will say the dumbest thing anyone can do is vote for only one party, and have one party rule.

Mike October 5, 2011 at 01:38 pm

The reason the economy is in the toilet is because everything we buy is made overseas. That doesn't put Americans to work. It puts other people in other countries to work. How long do you think you can spend all your money somewhere else, and expect your neighbors to stay solvent?

Clayton October 5, 2011 at 01:59 pm

Joe, you are absolutely right. Here's an interesting link from CSPAN that the liberal left don't want the people to see. Watch how the republican were calling for more regulation on MAE and MAC, but the dems- Waters, Meeks, Lacy, Clay, and Barney Frank call it a witch hunt. It's sad for me to watch Chris Shay (R-CT) call for more regs, but subsequently lost his election due to the Obama factor. They were saying that the housing market was at risk, but it fell on deaf dumb liberal ears. Everyone should watch this, and maybe they would be protesting congress instead of Wall St. Cut and paste this, and send this to as many voters that you can before Nov.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs

John Anderson October 5, 2011 at 03:19 pm

Not everything, we still get milk here. I forgot to also mention that the cost of goods is hurting me and my family. Smaller cereal boxes, cost of fruit is crazy, milk is high and the list goes on.
Speaking of overseas, better start trying on those shirts before buying them. Seems a lot of greedy people overseas are putting less material into shirts to increase profits. It's amazing how an x-large shirt varies in sizes. And the garbage we are buying, my kids shoes fall apart after 4 weeks. Another problem I have is that people I compete with live in low income housing and get all sorts of social benefits. It's not that they live in low income housing because they only make $75 a day, it's that they live in low income housing and can afford to live on $75 a day, making the playing field way off level. Government programs have got to come to an end, except for those in dire needs. If you can work, pay full rent. Section 8 and such has got to stop.

jo October 5, 2011 at 03:26 pm

UH ROYAL... try some facts.. housing mess a product of gov interference..from Dodd ..Frank.. and Cuomo..head of HUD at the time.. their sticking their fingers in the pie caused the collapse.. folks like you need to get educated.. dig deeper... turn off the sound bites and get into the facts..

Tony T October 5, 2011 at 04:00 pm

I am far from a supporter of those Wall Street socialist protesters however they do have a point. Some where (and the final straw as the election of Obama) we took a wrong turn probably a little too far to the left. We have become a society of dependents on government largess and have grow to accept that life as acceptable. It is not. Yes, as a Juedo-Christian society we are mandated to help....but not to be abused by fakes and frauds and allow this group to become dependent on entitlement programs and wefare. Lyndon Johnson's Great Society has failed and the Government continues to throw good money after bad money to keep it going. This must stop....we, all American must stop this abuse of us, those who pay ever increasing taxes, and those who continue to be held hostage to government. handouts.

Billy L October 5, 2011 at 04:09 pm

Nothing wrong with that. Business are allowed to do what they can to reduce their labor costs. If I was running a business I'd want to hire the cheapest employees too. However, there was no need to call me or my statement ignorant. I didn't make it a personal attack. You have to acknowledge the fact that taxes are a factor. Our corporate tax rate is 35%. Too high! Regardless of how you feel it's still morally wrong for the government to steal that much for any person and/or business.