Is It Really That Bad? (with poll)
 

CNN Poll: Those who say things going poorly higher than 1994 or 2006 - CNN.com

Is it really that bad for you personally? How is it bad for you? Or is it just bad for corporations that want to do business as usual?

And who/what do you think is really at fault? Is 'Personal Responsibility' of the upper middle class to blame...(not saving enough, buying houses to flip, thinking that their job was guaranteed)? Is it corporations sitting on their money until they can make a political statement? Or is our monetary policies of having a large national debt, flooding the economy with tax cuts that don't produce enough revenue to offset the losses but props up job numbers, spending the large majority of the tax revenue on military, SS and interest on the debt to blame?

I'm shocked that the number is 75%. These people need to take some history lessons and look at real recessions and depressions. Or just wait until AI comes along and unemployment goes up to 30% overnight by getting rid of all the basic easily automated jobs.

"Man, the country's going to shit! We've got to get those Dems out of office to get things back on track. But, you know, other than that, I'm doing pretty well myself...."

It's all about perspective. And myopia. And short-term memory.

Things are going great for me and my family.

Depends what time you ask me, how I'm feeling, whether I'm feeling more big picture or more focused, etc. Too many variable to name. But right now, I'm feeling good about my life in this little bubble I've created for myself.

I think it's important for people to keep in mind that this question is about YOU (the individual), not the country or the shitty way the word turns.

the best thing i can say about my circumstances now, as compared to 94 or 06, is that at least i'm working. I'm making less money than I did in 06, my wifes insurance was cancelled, her cardiologist fired her, and we're barely able to continue our minimum living expenses.

In all fairness though, it didn't start in 06 either. My salaries started dropping as early as 2004.

Every time we look at a negative statistic, look at it from a different point of view. For example if the unemployment rate is 10%, 90% are employed. Then if we look at the spin on statistics, and consider what the stat actually says - we get a different view. For example if total retail sales shows a year over year gain but the gain is 50% less than previous growth, that still means retail sales grew.

Personally I am doing worse off during this recession. My home is worth less than the mortgage. My business has lost money over the last two years. I have had to use savings to maintain my standard of living. Everything was clicking in 2004/2005, 2006 is when things started to turn - coincidentally when Democrats took control of Congress. I have been through recessions before and I did o.k. - I think part of the problem today is the uncertainty. Self-employed and recently turning 50 , health care insurance is very important to me and a big expense - Obama-care is not helping me and my 2011 premiums are going up 13%, not bad compared to some but certainly not going down and about 8 times inflation. They did not fix the problems I face.

I'm doing fine but finances have leveled out. My health insurance premiums went up about 15% this year as well so I checked that I have been better off in the past. My net income has been flat for the last couple years. I'm about even on my 401K, where my balance in Aug 2008 + my contributions equals my current balance. Other investments put me slightly ahead of where I was a couple years ago.

My house value is down about 25% from what I paid for it in 2003. On the plus side my property taxes dropped $500 a year after appealing the evaluation to the county. My portfolio is down about 30% from the peak in 2006. My health insurance is about 28% higher than last year and we have never made a claim.

All in all, I think we are worse off than a few years ago mostly due to the economic crisis at the end of 2008. I think the banking crisis may be under control after the bailouts but I fear healthcare costs are going to continue rising out of control.

I'm making 50% less than I was in '94. 40% less than I was in '06. My house is worth 59% of the purchase price, yeah that's my bad buying at the peak of the bubble. Gas is 3x's what it was in '94 and about the same as in '06. Food costs have gone up by about 15%. The building industry has come to a screeching halt and doesn't look to improve in the near future. I hear rumors of SS cuts for disabled Vet's. Meaning I'll soon have a new house mate when my brother's pay get's cut. What kind of douche bag cut's benefits to war vets while Congressmen and Senators get raises? WTF.

But, hey. I have a roof over my head, a less than desirable income, food on the table and the opportunity to hang out with my brother more often.

I guess it's just the difference between living and getting by. I just prefer to live.

I've been better off. Like many my house is worth about 20% less than it was in 06, I've not been as impacted by Healthcare costs (retired Military) but they seem on the rise across the board. I have little hope for my two sons currently in college finding a career when they graduate... but they're both working and going to school atm, so that could be worse. My government wage has levelled off, which is to be expected I suppose... But I have a few family members up in Philly out of work, and/or working two jobs just to get by, so that's a bummer... On the eve of this election, I'm just not feeling it for either party; but I count my blessings every day and hope a leader emerges that will lead us out of this down troddin blah I believe the country is in, restore some jobs and improve hope and confidence.

I'm making less than 1/3 what I was making 2 years ago after going 9mo unemployed, with the company offering health insurance at a higher rate than if I shopped on my own.

Yes... it's that fucking bad.

I'm ok. my apartment is so cheap it allows me to save my money. I have more in the bank than I ever had in my life.

my hourly rate hasn't changed in 3 years or so. I've never had a company offer me more than an hourly rate for my labour, except currently I get a 2 week vacation. I've had that for maybe 3 years now, but that's after working near 30 years in my field of work.

nobody has ever offered me any health care aside from L&I and I have no health care plan of my own. in my opinion 1/4 - 1/3 of my monthly wage for health care is robbery. I've paid cash at a clinic and dentist when I need to.

I'm sure I'm poor by most peoples standards but I try and live cheap on alot of stuff and then I can spend on some fun stuff. I carry 0 debt aside from the usual month to month of rent food internet etc.

work has always been solid for me for near 30 years now.

I'm worse off than in 06. I'm sell voluntary employee benefits(insurance)and the recession, combined with HCR is killing me. My income is 50% of what it was on 06. Thank god for my wife or we'd have lost our house.

I'm better off. I'm making making about 6% more than I was in 2006 due to cost of living raises and I just accepted a job offer in Silicon Valley that amounts to a 160% raise and comes with way more benefits.

I'm just a bit worse off.

I haven't had a raise in 6 years, and my debt it still too high.

Though on the optimistic side, the economy is turning around and the entry-level jobs I've started to look at have an average starting salary that would be the equivalent of a 25% raise.

There are aspects of my life that are much better and some that are worse. On the plus side, I'm doing well at my job. I've received raises and bonuses every year since I started with this company, even in 2008 and 2009 when virtually nobody was receiving them. On the negative side, I have a ton of debt. My credit cards are maxed and my house is worth 32% of what I owe on it (plus I have a balloon payment due in 10 years). I bought the house on the cusp of when the housing market crashed. I could barely afford the payments and but I thought I needed to act because prices had sharply increased for several years. Five years later, I can still barely afford the payments and it is a sinking ship.

I've realized that the best choice for me is to walk away. I can say with 100% certainty that 10 years this mistake will be done with and I can have perfect credit again. If I stay, I run the risk of a slow housing recovery and not being able to refinance the house when the balloon payment is due, forcing foreclosure and setting me back another 10 years. I'm not willing to take that risk so I'm taking action now.

So in short, the very short term is bleak but it's going to turn around soon. It's depressing to lose a house but I know what I'm doing is the best thing for my family.

I've been much better off. Was out of a job for 17 months. Have been employed since Aug. 2. So in the short time, I'm better but the hit I've taken will take forever to recover from. And I know far too many people still looking for employment or wishing they could find something better.

I now make less than a 1/4 of what I made at this time two years ago. In fact, I make less now than I made collecting unemployment. My 401K has been decimated to the point of being a joke. My home value has risen, but only for taxation purposes (the county TELLS me what my home is worth, and taxes accordingly). I'll never be able to sell it for what it's "valued" at.

The only reason that we were able to weather this storm is the fact that;
A.) We have no credit card debt.
B.) Our cars are paid for.
C.) We purchased a home that we could actually afford.
and of course...
D.) We had savings to fall back on.
In short...we lived within our means. But, even with those things in our favor, it has not been fun or easy. I can only imagine how hard it is for those that did not live within their means. But, while I may feel sorry for them, I do not pity them.

The county also raised my house evaluation last year. This was not based on reality and I believe was done to increase revenue. You might want to check and see if there is a method to lower the evaluation in order to lower your property tax. My county eventually lowered my evaluation $50,000 which saves me $500 a year. It's not much but every little bit helps.

Yes, there is a mechanism in place to appeal the valuation. But, in some strange circular logic, the onus is placed upon me to prove that my property is not worth what they say it is.

In MY world, when the county raises the value of my property, I should then have 90 days to decide whether or not I want to sell, to the county, my property, for the value that they have placed on it. By keeping possesion of my property, I then agree to the new valuation and pay the extra taxes incurred. Otherwise, the county then pays me the full valuation, which they have placed on my property, and I then have 30 days to vacate the property in order that the county may then attempt to sell it themselves.

Worse off. -Much- worse.

The shop has taken a 60-plus-percent hit. The County revalued our farm two years ago, and decided it was -actually- worth nearly 4x what they said it was the prior year, despite the fact that land, home, -and- livestock prices had fallen and continue to fall. The Dollar has continued taking an international shit, so prices of imported products keep going up, likewise fuel and parts for tractors and other equipment. Obamacare will start kicking in soon, which will further reduce our ability to stay open since it'll hit our already-slim checkbook with yet -another- Cost Of Doing Business which we can't support since we, an actual business, have to be able to sell a product instead of just printing more money to cover an expense. Kinda hard to manage when nobody has work and inflation* is driving greater and greater percentages of everybody's income into food, fuel, and electricity. And since Mr. Bernanke and Mr. Obama both seem to be suffering from Cranio-Rectal Realityphobia, the inflation problem (a serious one for us and anyone else who deals in imports) will only get worse.

It's bad enough that I'm seriously considering going back to work at the pizza joint I worked at in college. Three years ago we were a thriving family business. What's -that- tell you?



*Funny how the costs of food, fuel, and electricity don't get used to compute inflation. They're the three things everybody essentially -must- have, and they're the three things which have suffered the greatest price inflation over the past five years. Nothing like being able to leave out data which makes you look like a lying sack of frogshit!

Just for the record, the govt does not calculate a rate of inflation...other than as an increase/decrease in the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

The CPI:

At the risk of a threadjack, there is a good reason for it. (And it isn't really a secret that they leave these things out of core CPI calculations.)

First, there is a difference between a more generic CPI vs. "core CPI," which excludes the above-mentioned items.

The main thing is that commodities tied into food, energy, and fuel are highly volatile, and the prices are rigidly tied into globalized situations. To include them into the core CPI measure to track inflation would mask other problems, namely, the deflation of more stable prices, which include the bulk of everything else.

To include food, energy, and fuel prices in the CPI could hide the fact that other prices are deflating. One concern amongst economists right now is that deflation could kick into a downward spiral, meaning that prices will drop, production will drop, wages will drop, forcing prices down further, and it continues.

If we included the inflated prices of food, energy, and fuel, the overall measure of inflation might point central banks in the direction of rising interest rates. A raise in rates would put a damper on spending and therefore the economy.

Why do you think interest rates are so low right now? Nobody's spending. Raising the rates (one of the main ways to fight inflation) would make that worse, as the cost of borrowing money to spend would become more expensive, i.e. borrowing money and making mortgage payments becomes more expensive, also, it increases the incentive to save.