Are You Better Off than You Were Four Years Ago?

#2. In 2007, 19.2 percent of all American families had a net worth of zero or less than zero. By 2010, that figure had soared to 32.5 percent of all American families with a net worth of zero or less.

#3. According to the Federal Reserve, the median net worth of American families dropped “from $126,400 in 2007 to $77,300 in 2010.”

#4. According to the Pew Research Center, 61 percent of all Americans were “middle income” back in 1971. In 2010, only 51 percent of all Americans are “middle income.”

#5. Back in 1970, middle income Americans brought home 62 percent of all income in the United States. In 2010, middle income Americans only brought home 45 percent of all income.

#6. The unemployment rate in the United States has been above 8 percent for 42 straight months.

#7. The percentage of working age Americans with a job has been below 59 percent for 35 months in a row.

#8. In June, the number of Americans added to the food stamp rolls was nearly three times larger than the number of jobs added to the U.S. economy.

#9. Approximately 53 percent of all U.S. college graduates under the age of 25 were either unemployed or underemployed last year.

#10. Since Barack Obama entered the White House in 2008, the number of long-term unemployed Americans has risen from 2.7 million to 5.2 million.

#11. Today, the average duration of unemployment in the United States is about three times as long as it was back in the year 2007.

#12. According to a report that has just been released by the National Employment Law Project, 58 percent of the jobs that have been created since the end of the recession have been low paying jobs (paying below $13.52/hr).

#13. According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, only 24.6 percent of all of the jobs in the United States are “good jobs” (paying median wage of $17.48 with benefit options).

#14. In 2010, the number of jobs created at new businesses in the United States was less than half of what it was back in the year 2007.

#15. The average pay for self-employed Americans fell by $3,721 between 2007 and 2010.

#16. According to U.S. Representative Betty Sutton, America has lost an average of 15 manufacturing facilities a day over the last 10 years. During 2010 it got even worse. That year, an average of 23 manufacturing facilities a day shut down in the United States.

#17. At this point, one out of every four American workers has a job that pays $10 an hour or less.

#18. While Barack Obama has been president the velocity of money has plunged to a post-World War II low.

#19. According to one recent survey, 85 percent of middle class Americans say that it is harder to maintain a middle class standard of living today compared with 10 years ago.

#20. Electricity bills in the United States have risen faster than the overall rate of inflation for five years in a row.

#21. There are now 20.2 million Americans that spend more than half of their incomes on housing. That represents a 46 percent increase from 2007.

#22. Over the past decade, health insurance premiums have risen three times faster than wages have in the United States.

#23. Health insurance costs have risen by 23 percent since Barack Obama became president.

Each of the above facts can be verified using Google. Perhaps the question should be…

*Is our country better off than it was four years ago?*

Or,…

Has our country prospered under president Barack Obama these past 4 years?

With respect to the above facts, the answer is obvious. Follow-up question…

Does Barack Obama deserve to be president for another four years?

Your choice in November.