are we better off than in 2008? the answer is yes - gerald mckinstry

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McKinstry: Are we better off thanin 2008? The answer is yesSeptember 6, 2012 5:41 PM By GERALD MCKINSTRY

Photo credit: AP, 2008 | Local 869 Financial Secretary David Edgar, center, speaks to a crowd of hundreds ofUAW workers

during a protest against plant closings in front ofChryslerWorld Headquarters inAuburn Hills, Mich.

One morning during a meeting last week in Tampa, Fla., Republican

strategist Frank Luntz gave the New York State Republican Party a

painting of former President Ronald Reagan.

The portrait of the conservative icon sat in front of the podium in the

ballroom of the hotel where the state delegation was staying. In

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speech after speech from the likes of state party chairman Edward

Cox, former Sen. Alfonse D'Amato and House SpeakerJohn

Boehner, there were references to Reagan: on the economy,

unemployment and Iran, to name a few.

But the most memorable Reaganism was his famous remark during a

debate with President Jimmy Carter: "Are you better off today than

you were four years ago?"

We're hearing it a lot these days.

Paul Ryan asked it. So did Mitt Romney.

The simple answer: We are better off. But how quickly we can forget.

Four years ago, the housing market imploded. Financial markets plunged after the subprime

mortgage crisis. Lehman Brothers collapsed. The U.S. auto industry was on the verge of failure and

the government took control of mortgage giantsFannie Mae and Freddie Mac. President George W.

Bush pushed for a $700-billion economic stimulus package that was eventually approved. We were

fighting wars on two fronts, in Iraq and Afghanistan. U.S. combat forces left Iraq in 2011.

Former President Bill Clinton on Wednesday covered many of these areas during his 48-minute

speech at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., and answered that gnawing

question to thunderous applause.

"When President Barack Obama took office, the economy was in free fall. It had just shrunk 9 full

percent of GDP. We were losing 750,000 jobs a month," Clinton said. "Are we doing better than that

today? The answer to that is yes."

At a campaign stop in downtown Detroit earlier this week, Vice President Joe Biden summed it in

simple terms: "You want to know whether we're better off? I've got a little bumper sticker for you:

'Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive.'"

To be clear, things are better, but we're not where we want, or need, them to be. Not on jobs,

education, energy or even our place in the world.

The economy is improving, but there's still a way to go. Gasoline prices remain high, wages arestagnant and unemployment is hovering around 8.3 percent. An estimated 12.8 million people are still

out of work.

Those people aren't better off. And maybe that's the Republican goal -- to attract disaffected voters.

But that won't solve their problems.

In the remaining eight weeks of this campaign, the candidates must present more than their vision for

America. We need to hear a real path to getting the economy humming, on stable ground and getting

people back to work, among so many other challenges.

The "better off" question worked forReagan more than three decades ago.

It won't work for Romney. IfRepublicans want a Romney Revolution, they are going to have to start

asking different questions -- and then have some answers.

Gerald McKinstry is a member of the Newsday editorial board.

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nomoretaxes

New york is still the liberal infested sewar that it always was.

eklci

Most people I know are NOT better off. Many have had to take pay cuts or frozen

wages. Many have lost work for long periods of time and some are still

unemployed.

The Obama administration's response to all of this has been to reward those

whose actions precipitated the crisis.

The author points out that the situation was bad in 2008, but neglects to mentionthat from 2006 to 2008 (and from 2008 to 2010) both houses of Congress were

controlled by Democrats.

So Republicans AND Democrats brought us to this place. Neither really has the

credibility to bring us out of it, but Obama has had four years and not adequately

or competeently addressed the jobs issue. So maybe it's time for Romney as the

lesser of two evils.

(Best yet would be a third party, but little chance of that happening!)

1

nomoretaxes

Only Government employees and welfare recipuents are better off now than

before.

reaganwasarat

Al Qaeda was very well of 8 years ago ( because of their benefactor GWB

) now they are pretty much irrelevant.

nomoretaxes

Until something happens. Better not sleep with the lights off

reaganwasarat

In the last decade right wing hate groups have committed

more acts of terror and killed more people in the US then

any other group, yet no body is investigating them.

nomoretaxes

There is no such thing as right wing hate gorups. Hate

groups by theier choice of violence are left wing. EG KKK

0
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4/8



reaganwasarat

The KKK was an extremely conservative group, they were

Christian fundamentalist. Much of the Christian Right

leadership of today has ties to the KKK of old. Your

complete lack of political understanding is mind boggling.

hemcole

well said. unions were never supposed to be for government employees.

they are negotiating with the people they help to elect. This is a joke.

reaganwasarat

Why were Government employes never suppose to be union

members?

seldendennis

And our troops who are no longer in Iraq. And young adults 19-25 who

have health care. And auto workers who have jobs. And people whoAmerica was torturing.

However gov't workers have seen their collective bargaining rights

eliminated, wages reduced and and their jobs decreased. By what

measure do you call them or welfare recipuents (sic) better off?

nomoretaxes

Auto workers have guarentted health benefits but no jobs. Nor do

the 19-25 year olds have jobs. IT's just like europe healthcae for all

jobs for none. Welfare recipients got cost of living increases from

Cuomo or did you forget about that.

GRE999

"However gov't workers have seen their collective bargaining rights

eliminated, wages reduced and and their jobs decreased."

Collective bargaining my eye, these GOVERNMENT employees,

they work for us, the TAX PAYER. Why do they even have a

union? How much bigger would you like the goverment to

be? They are already one, if not the largest employer in the US.

jerm00ny

Yes they are and remember who the person was thatexpanded the government workforce to its highest level in

years... His name was George W Bush...

nomoretaxes

Unions had few if any cuts during the last 4 years. The victories

against unions are few and minimal at best. The 19-25 may have

healthcare but now they can't get jobs wo how are they better off? .

Welfare recipients got increases and government workers got
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5/8



raises over the last few years. Few if any pay for their benefits too.

They're definitly better off unlike the taxpayer who gets the bill from

rising property taxes.

rscurtis

True. A 19-25 year old shouldn't even need health care.

nomoretaxes

occaisonally they do.

seldendennis

You are not aware of what went on with Scott Walker. In

Wisconsin? Repug governors have been after unions

relentlessly. Do you think 19-25's had better job prospects

four years ago? NO. All workers WORK for their benefits,

they were never given free.

Rising property taxes will get worse if we cut off Fed and

state aid, which will happen if we squeeze the federal gov't.

nomoretaxes

Wisconsin is a great start. Einstein where do you think the

federal and state aid comes from. Do you think that there is

someone in albany exreting Money. Property taxes rises

because public employees keep expecting more and more.

IT's time to give them less and less. The auto workers union

got 25 billion in undeserved taxpayer funds to bail out thier

benefit funds. They should have waited in line like the rest of

the creditors for their share.

GRE999

1-Please stop calling Chrysler one of the big 3 American automakers and please

call it one the big Italian (FIAT) automakers!

2-If you think were better off now then you obviously are not a small business

owner on Long Island. As an owner that supplies his employees with fully funded

health benefits I can tell you that my health insurance costs have gone up by a

minimum of 20% since Obamacare was announced - not implemented but

announced! Cut the BS and give us tort reform and straighten out the health

insurance industry in order to give all Americans affordable health care, not a

national health care system

jerm00ny

The issue with health care in this country is that it is a business. That is the

problem. Not the care of its citizens but to make money... What is wrong

with that picture?

seldendennis

You clearly state that you health costs went op BEFORE Obamacare was

im lemented. Yet ou still blame it. Do facts matter at all to Re u s?
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6/8



GRE999

As per a typical democrat, read what I posted again, the health

care costs started rising after Obamacare was announced and not

yet implemented! Stop foaming at the mouth long enough to read

the post. Insurance companies started raising rates in advance of

the implementation of Obamacare!

nomoretaxes

The health care costs continue to go up too. Obamacare is an

unmitigated disaster. Meanwhile the purchasing power of the dollar

has also gone down in the last three years and continues to

decline.

reaganwasarat

It is funny that when people talk about gas prices being that they never mention

that driving the price of gas UP was the REAL reason we invaded Iraq. Since

1960 there has been a direct correlation between the price of gas and the netprofits of the oil industry. When prices go up, so do profits. If we had not

invaded Iraq, Saddam Hussein would be flooding the market with cheap oil right

now. The price of gas would be very low and so would the profits of

Exxon/Mobil.

wayne231

This question is so stupid, it all depends on who got the handouts and the

bailouts, very few are better off today than they were would be my guess...

reaganwasarat

Actually this question is a matter of perception. The GOP wants you to

think of it in a narrow scope and not look at the bigger picture, i.e. how

secure did you feel 4 years ago compared to today. 4 years ago no one's

job was secure because no one knew how bad the recession/depression

was going to get. No one knew how many companies would go under.

When you see companies like Citi, AIG, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers

and Bear Sterns going bankrupt no one could safely say that the company

they were working for wouldn't also go under. All one knew for sure is that

massive lay offs were coming. So if you look at the question of how

secure did you feel 4 years ago compared to now, most people would say

that they are doing better.

jerm00ny

Well said...

Swordfish

No growth, no jobs, no pipeline, no leadership, no budget - Obama should be

toast. But McKinstry, what is your problem - are you Joe Biden's lost brother or

something?
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7/8



libslant

What is McKinstry smoking?

Jettech

That is the most ridiculous argument I have ever heard.

seldendennis

Repugs always think reality is ridiculous.

reaganwasright

The question is at what cost. Was it worth 30 billion which taxpayers will not get

back to save GM when an organized bankruptcy would have done the same,

rather than hand the company over to Obama's UAW buddies.Was the stimulius

spending all borrowed money do much of anything except for helping state blcck

grants that went to assist their employee pension funds. As we know their were

no "shovel ready jobs", nor is this teh 1930's. Also, credit should be given to

theBush Treasury Sectry who really did much to put a lid on a banking crisis, notgovt. If you can give me specifics that Obama did to get us out of that mess, I

would like to here them! But Congress did give permission basically to flood the

system with cash, which of course inflates the currency but at least stabilized the

situation. ARe we better off, not really, we are still looking at 375,000 new claims

a month!, many of the jobs found are low paying service jobs and the

underemployment rate is 14%. And since we do not include the couple of million

who just took early retirement or disability, or passed thier 99 weeks, the real

unemployment rate is higher. The point is business still does not have a clear path

as where we are going, and healthcae costs for business has sky rocketed in the

past 2 years. BHO has yet to offer any clear tax policy, and has added tons of

regs that put a hampter any business development. The unemployment rate is

somewhat better, but when you add the cost of energy, housing is still

underwater, job growth is non existant, and personal incomes and wealth down,

we at beast are not worse, but not much better. Only capitalism and private

enterprise can lift us out, and we need a new President who recogonozies that.

reaganwasarat

Reagen was a rat.

jerm00ny

"many of the jobs found are low paying service jobs and the

underemployment rate is 14%" - Good Point Reagan. We have outsourced

many of the other jobs. Just pay attention to how Altschuler made his

fortune by outsourcing WHITE COLLAR JOBS to asia. He's a proud

american... In my eyes he's a traitior to the AMerican working class.

schrubs1

The loans and TARPS were paid back with interest. US made money on

it, saved jobs and industries. Is that against repub goals?
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8/8



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seldendennis

Yes! Their stated goal is to make Obama a one term President.

Anything that helps the country goes against that goal.

schrubs1

And the repub obstruction of the Obama jobs plan goes

along with that. Keep millions unemployed so Obama looks

bad.

rm11518

Let's see, no new wars to kill more Americans. No stock market crash. Another

housing crash? Nope. Hmmm..., based on these few things alone I'd say we are

better off.

1

volks

SHARE SOME OF THE DRUGS YOU TAKE.

1

UR1

Stop drinking when you write.

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are we better off than in 2008? the answer is yes - gerald mckinstry

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