DU poll indicates the sky is falling:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3595423#3595488NNN0LHI (1000+ posts) Thu Jul-10-08 02:11 PM
Original message
Poll question: Are you doing better now than you were eight years ago?
Edited on Thu Jul-10-08 02:11 PM by NNN0LHI
Poll result (171 votes)
Yes (52 votes, 30%) Vote
No (111 votes, 65%) Vote
Not sure / Something else (8 votes, 5%) Vote
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But the testimonials tell a different tale
MrCoffee (1000+ posts) Thu Jul-10-08 02:16 PM
Response to Original message
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.
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Tierra_y_Libertad (1000+ posts) Thu Jul-10-08 02:17 PM
Response to Original message
5. About the same. Just older and more cynical.
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EOO (1000+ posts) Thu Jul-10-08 02:40 PM
Response to Reply #5
16. Same here.
I cant blame my age on President Stupid Jackass, but I can certainly blame my cynicism on him!
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slackmaster (1000+ posts) Thu Jul-10-08 02:18 PM
Response to Original message
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.
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exothermic (90 posts) Thu Jul-10-08 02:18 PM
Response to Original message
8. Yes, in spite of Bushco...certainly not with their help.
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tammywammy (1000+ posts) Thu Jul-10-08 02:53 PM
Response to Original message
19. Yes, much better
I've been promoted and given a hefty raise and I purchased my first home a year ago.
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ContraBass Black (1000+ posts) Thu Jul-10-08 03:13 PM
Response to Original message
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.
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Rainbowreflect (1000+ posts) Thu Jul-10-08 03:23 PM
Response to Original message
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.
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GreenPartyVoter (1000+ posts) Thu Jul-10-08 03:28 PM
Response to Original message
32. Mentally and emotionally, no. Financially, about the same. Maybe slightly better.
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QuestionAll (1000+ posts) Thu Jul-10-08 11:36 PM
Response to Original message
66. DEFINITELY. MUCH MUCH better, in fact.
no question about it.
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varelse (695 posts) Thu Jul-10-08 11:39 PM
Response to Original message
67. I'm doing better
the nation is not.
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OK, the following is true:
1. During President Bush's tenure people aged. This was not experienced during any other presidency.
2. There are no jobs for college grads, well except for the exceptions.
3. Paying down a bunch of debt, refincing a mortgage to a lower rate and saving a "considerable amount" of money is bad.
4. BDS rules over all logical thought.
Who are the voters whose life is worse:
ComtesseDeSpair (30 posts) Thu Jul-10-08 02:20 PM
Response to Original message
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.
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Translation: I burned up all my money partying and don't have two nickels to rub together.
Madam Mossfern (830 posts) Thu Jul-10-08 02:51 PM
Response to Reply #15
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.
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Translation: Three kids in college is expensive. $20K in property taxes means big government and big house.
mnhtnbb (1000+ posts) Thu Jul-10-08 03:40 PM
Response to Original message
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.
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Translation: Son can't hold a job, the kids are cutting into vacation home in Panama, Bush burned our house down and killed some of our family members and our dog (see above, No aging under Clinton).
Wiley50 (1000+ posts) Thu Jul-10-08 03:58 PM
Response to Original message
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!
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Translation: My drug addiction cost me my home and wife. Those who know Wiley50 know why that is true.
Somebody notes the Doom and Gloom isn't sufficient.
Zywiec (1000+ posts) Thu Jul-10-08 04:31 PM
Response to Original message
47. Someone better DU this poll
I didn't think anyone was doing better than they were 8 years ago.
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Poor Dummies. Can't even enjoy their successes or grieve their losses without making a political statement.
