Are we really better off?

**-Lazarus-** · 09-10-12, 05:22 PM

So, at the DNC convention, the Democrats repeated the mantra over and over again... That we are better off now than 4 years ago. Can someone on the left please explain how we are better off?

Are we really better off?-392016_10151147513694424_1602085834_n-jpg

**SmokenScion** · 09-10-12, 05:32 PM

Explain where you got that pretty graph.

**triggerhappy2005** · 09-10-12, 05:38 PM

Thanks for showing me that.

I'm voting Obama.

**SovietDooM** · 09-10-12, 05:51 PM

Hey can I get some of that 3.89 gas? 4.19 here.

**SmokenScion** · 09-10-12, 05:55 PM

Thought i'd Share a nice Infographic too.
I'll cite this one though.

http://mashable.com/2012/09/10/job-o...-unemployment/

**Fovezer** · 09-10-12, 06:52 PM

Originally Posted by SmokenScion

Explain where you got that pretty graph.

Probably from the same place he gets all his info: The Romney campaign.

The funniest quote I heard was from Clinton at the DNC when he said, “In Tampa, the Republican argument against the president's re-election was actually pretty simple, pretty snappy. It went something like this: We left a total mess; he can't clean it up fast enough, so fire him, and put us back in.”

Pow.
CHARTS: Are You Better Off Than 4 Years Ago? - Business Insider

**AetheLove** · 09-10-12, 07:08 PM

Originally Posted by Fovezer

Pow.

CHARTS: Are You Better Off Than 4 Years Ago? - Business Insider

Cool. Someone in the media found FRED.

The "are you better off now..." theme was strong at the RNC Convention. News people have been asking that question since the next day. I think it's completely idiotic.

The best response I've heard:

The reason we know that [these are] incompetent reporters is that this is a pointless question. Suppose your house is on fire and the firefighters race to the scene. They set up their hoses and start spraying water on the blaze as quickly as possible. After the fire is put out, the courageous news reporter on the scene asks the chief firefighter, "is the house in better shape than when you got here?"

Yes, that would be a really ridiculous question. Hence George Stephanopoulos was being absurd when he posed this question to David Plouffe, a top political adviser to President Obama on ABC's This Week. Bob Schieffer was being equally silly when he asked Martin O’Malley, the Chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, the same question on CBS's Face the Nation.

A serious reporter asks the fire chief if he had brought a large enough crew, if they had enough hoses, if the water pressure was sufficient. That might require some minimal knowledge of how to put out fires.

That's from here:

Are Americans Better Off Today Than They Were Four Years Ago?" The Question That Exposes Incompetent Reporters

Cheers,

AetheLove

**phidan** · 09-10-12, 07:35 PM

Will lazarus respond to this thread and admit he's wrong?

**deputyfestus** · 09-10-12, 08:45 PM

Originally Posted by Fovezer

Probably from the same place he gets all his info: The Romney campaign.

The funniest quote I heard was from Clinton at the DNC when he said, “In Tampa, the Republican argument against the president's re-election was actually pretty simple, pretty snappy. It went something like this: We left a total mess; he can't clean it up fast enough, so fire him, and put us back in.”

Pow.
CHARTS: Are You Better Off Than 4 Years Ago? - Business Insider

Comments to and from your charter.

Dennis954 on Sep 8, 12:22 PM said:@Henry Blodget: When you show national rates it fails to show who has benefited. Post a chart and divide that growth in GDP per person among income groups. I am sure the rich benefited the most. Oh, and adjust for inflation while you are at it. Real incomes among the middle class have dropped about 5% in the last few years. Are we all better off? Maybe you are! Get another grant from the Obama propaganda machine. You have earned the first one!

Henry Blodget
on Sep 8, 12:51 PM said:@Dennis954: Yes, that's true. And important. The gains have predominantly gone to better-off folks. I'll add a chart on that.

Read more: CHARTS: Are You Better Off Than 4 Years Ago? - Business Insider