How Are Your Personal Finances Since * Took Over From Clinton?

[stopbush]

Poll question: How Are Your Personal Finances Since * Took Over From Clinton?

All things considered, are you better off or worse off than you were 4 years ago?

Vote below:

Poll result (141 votes)
Exceptionally better	(19 votes, 13%)	Vote
Moderately better	(7 votes, 5%)	Vote
Slightly Better	(3 votes, 2%)	Vote
No change	(6 votes, 4%)	Vote
Slightly worse	(8 votes, 6%)	Vote
Moderately worse	(6 votes, 4%)	Vote
Significantly worse	(64 votes, 45%)	Vote
Disastrously worse	(21 votes, 15%)	Vote
Couldn't answer - I had to sell my computer	(1 votes, 1%)	Vote
Other	(6 votes, 4%)	Vote

[justinsb]

1. I moved to a different country

so...not a signicant part of the poll.

[Adelante]

18. So did I

Still, I had 401K money under Clinton. All gone now.

[Krupskaya]

2. Unemployed since 11/01...

...as a direct result of 9/11. My industry has since crashed. I blame Bush 100%.

[Cha]

10. IMO, you are so right

to "blame bush"!

[hughee99]

3. Sorry...

I'm the "Exceptionally better" A-hole. I has nothing to do with the policies of either * or Clinton, but this is how it worked out.

[Orsino]

29. Same here.

If it helps, I feel guilty about it.

However, with the world being pushed to the brink of environmental disaster, tyranny and political chaos, I feel much less secure.

[Sugarbleus]

32. LOL..don't feel quilty.. I am HAPPY for you. Thank goodness

some of my fellow democratic Americans are doing well. Hell, the object for me isn't that we all become poor. It's that well all have a certain quality of life; each according to his ability to acheive it.

I have adult children and grandschildren that have to live and "work" in this country--I'm hoping they find a quality of life as well.

Very Best wishes to you

[DODI]

4. Significantly worse. Since * took office hubby's side work and

overtime have evaporated. He is in telecom and made some nice money on the school internet installations that Clinton and company funded.

[ronnykmarshall]

5. It's hard to say ...

When Clinton was in office was single and living with either a boyfriend or a roomate.

Towards the end of his term, my financial situation improved because I got married.

[noamnety]

6. Other - a bit of both

Personal salary is way down. Husband's salary is a little bit up, but a far cry from enough to compensate. Disposable income is way down.

Net worth is up, because we're still plugging away at the mortgage, we stashed a lot in retirement accounts during Clinton, and are still putting some towards retirement now, though not as much per month.

[uppityperson]

7. Went into business for self 5 yrs ago, crashed after gd start

Stared my own business 1 yr pre-bush. It started well then crashed and I've been barely maintaining since.

[The Straight Story]

8. Much Better

But that is not due to *, it is due to my hard work. He dosen't deserve the credit either way to me.

Companies in my experience cause many of their own problems through poor decisions, fraud, over expansion, waste, and so on.

Sure the president can influence things, but I think we give him too many powers over things mentally at times. The last 4 companies I have worked for over the last 9 years all went bankrupt - because they were idiots.

Again - presidents can hurt and help, as can congress of course, but over the years I have been working companies were their own worst enemies.

[greenmutha]

9. Disastrously worse.

My story is much like uppityperson's.

Started my own business in late 1996. Was doing exceptionally well up until 9-11 and it's been going downhill ever since. Lately it has been almost non-existant, I'm barely hanging on.

[leanin_green]

11. Filing chapter 7 this year.

Under Clinton I was just getting it together. Seems that after Jr. was appointed things began to go down hill. Wife lost her job due to her degenerative osteoarthritis getting worse and her having to take more pain meds to function. Then, because of this assholes economic policies and ballooning deficit, we have to fight with Social Security Disability. She's been denied twice and we're about to start the hearing process paying for an attorney we can't afford. God I hate that man!

[puerco-bellies]

12. Moderately better

That asshole has caused a lot of turmoil in the energies, bond, and currency markets. I've made more because of it.

[ultraist]

13. Exceptionally better, but no thanks to W

We started our business ten years ago and it has grown significantly but we would have LIKELY seen much more growth over the last four years had it not been for W.

Our business relies heavily on the economic well being of the middle class. Right after 9-11, we had to change direction to suit the current climate. We made adjustments to market more to the upper middle class. Had we not had the flexibility to do this, we may have sunk.

[central scrutinizer]

14. depends on how you define better?

If I was a Repub, only looking out for number one, then my financial bottom line is considerably better off since we live very simply and save diligently and are healthy. I might have enough to move into a gated, guarded community next to the golf course where I can ignore the riff-raff and count on rent-a-cops to keep the scum away from me.

But as a proud liberal, I see schools that have gone to shit, good jobs replaced with McJobs, environmental neglect, world distrust and hatred towards America, 1500 grieving familes here, 100,000 grieving Iraqi families and know that my well-being is only as good as my neighbor's well being, and when the Bushco chickens come home to roost, we will all be hip deep in chicken shit.

[susanna]

33. I'm with you, central scrutinizer.

The same pretty much applies. My husband and I both live quite simply so have been able to pay off our mortgage/other debt and save quite a bit. We both maintained our jobs and still do not know how; our industry has been hit very hard in the last four years, yet we both somehow managed to avoid the land mine cuts all around us. We count our blessings on that front, but yet another new round of cuts has us in the crosshairs. So we wait.

Your words on schools, jobs, the environment, our bottoming out in our standing in the international community, and the loss of so many of our servicepeople in Iraq (including one of my dearest friends) haunt me as well. I'm not really that much better off based on all of those things.

Long story short (ha!) I do not seem to be able to separate my personal well-being with that of my country and countrymen/women. I must be a Democrat or something.

[flordehinojos]

15. do you include health insurance coverage under finances, as in has your

health insurance coverage improved or declined since Bush took over?
If it has improved are you saving $$$ on services previously received, are you getting better services, better providers, etc., or, has the quality of health care services provided by your insurance declined since Bush took over and consequently are you paying more out of pocket money to get the same quality of care?
complicated answer to a straight forward question, but somehow for me it ties into it.

[China_cat]

16. Disastrously worse

Husband's job outsourced, my health prevents me from working. He was out of work 2 years, cleaned out our savings trying to keep the house and car and eat (and breathe)

He's now working 2 jobs for half the pay (combined) he was making and we have NO benefits at all.

[mtnsnake]

17. Significantly worse. Living near the Canadian border, 30% of the items

that I purchased for my small business were bought in Canada. Under the chimp, our dollar has reached such devastating lows against the Canadian dollar that my buying days there are all but over. IE, I'm working twice as hard and making less than ever under George the Imbecile.

Under Clinton, our dollar was worth about a $1.50 Canadian at one time, and much of the time under Bill around $1.45. Under Bush it's gone down to about $1.20 and still sinking. Now I can't buy there unless I wanna break even or lose. Oh well, our sinking dollar has hurt so many people.

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

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

[Piperay]

20. Exceptionally better BUT it has NOTHING to do with

chimp, it's because I inherited property from someone who died.

[henrik larssonisking]

21. doing much much better

mainly due to working harder and promotions, though i have invested heavily and have done well. (plus the tax exempt pension and weak dollar have made life a lot better)

[AP]

22. Something to remember is that your finances should always get better

no matter what. You always have more experience and knowledge this year than last year.

So what you really have to consider is whether there was an opportunity cost.

If you did better, was it at the same rate that you would have gotten/did get better under a Democrat?

You also have to consider if people at the same point in their career today that you were in 1999/2000 are doing as well today as you did then.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

23. I chose "other" because I was in high school and college

during the Clinton years. I had no finances to speak of really. I can't make a good comparsion, because neither my husband nor I were able to work a full time job until the Bush admin (after we graduated college).

[suegeo]

24. 401K took a hit, big increase in property taxes

I probably won't be able to retire as I wanted since the Junta tanked the market.

Also, since our shitty governor in Minnesota is a Bush bot, he claims he won't raise taxes, which is crap, because the shit then flows downhill to splatter the gomers at the local level, who simply raise my property taxes.

Which I guess is ok, because someone needs to provide for the common welfare, but please Pawlenty, don't tell me my taxes have gone down because you are a genius.

[henrik larssonisking]

25. property taxes

property taxes in the DC area can be nuts, though house values have increased a lot, as have the rents, so the higher rents easily out balance the insurance and tax increase.

though i hate property tax, seems like im buying my properties all over again.

[ban-one]

26. Significantly better for me

I work in the field of psychology.
When * made himself President, more and more people started showing up in need of help.

[henrik larssonisking]

27. lol nearly wet myself over that one.

nice one mate.

[susanna]

35. I can see that happening.

Constant fear is unhealthy and he manages to dish out a boatload of it daily.

[Greylyn58]

28. Since Bush took office

The company I worked for suffered and as a result I lost my job. Been out of work since 10/03. Am in school to make a career change. Almost through and hope to find a job (keeping fingers crossed)

[hollowdweller]

30. I'm the same but I work for Soc. Sec and our working conditions now suck

It was the same way under Reagan. They would make all these changes and then not give us the money to deal with them. Our workplace was so much better under Clinton. Now Bush is messing it up.

[flordehinojos]

31. i wonder if there are any bushistas out there who presently might have to

depend on their social security retirement income for their livelihood

or if they are all so wealthy that in their circle they just say, cutting social security, WHO CARES?

[hollowdweller]

36. What amazes me my friend is going up these hollows here and there's

all these people, living in run down trailers, about half of them on disability, or SSI, or welfare, big Bush/Cheney signs in their yards. It's like they just don't have a clue.

[mitchum]

37. "But them there perverts ain't gonna be a-marrying an' threatening...

the beautiful thang me an' my third wife have!"

[hollowdweller]

40. Exactly. People have a great inclination for lack of insight and delusion

[Sugarbleus]

34. I'm not allowed to have personal finances...

When I DO aquire a few bucks ahead, I'm ordered to spend it. I and hubby are disabled. I worked most of my life. I became unable to work outside the home in 1999. Since then I've applied for SSDI. Hubby uses SSI. We also use Section 8 Vouchers for subsidized housing.

All of these programs are being diddled with. First came the housing issue. Bush has put restrictions on who can use a voucher, has raised the amount low income folks pay as their share (kinda defeats the subsidy idea doesn't it), now people are talking about cutting back on the social security allotments, mostly from the state portions.

I do work part time as an in home supportive aide. That is threatened to be cut off for people in my position. They've already closed the offices of the agency I work for. It's online appointments only now.

Healthcare for us is leaching away. Less and less services, fewer doctors willing to take us on as patients. To think I used to have full healthcare coverage when I worked at Seagate Tech. back in the 80's..everything was covered *sigh*

The cost of living has skyrocketed; likewise auto insurances and medicines. So we sit in this substandard dwelling waiting to die, I guess. Rent went up substantially: $175 to $512 (ON SECTION 8 mind you!!) There went any savings I might have desired to put aside for, oh say... MY BURIAL!!??

We were actually starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel before Bush came along. We were starting to squeeze our belts even tighter and try to save, under a special program, for the down payment for a home. GONE NOW!!

Oh Yeah, we are having a ball...

[Raised_In_The_Wild]

38. other...slight improvement but only due to working 2ce as many hours. n/t

[dinmo]

39. no work

unemployment ran out , no money coming in at all, will be losing daily.
thanks to *ush-co