Since the DNC convention began, I have taken serious stock of my own status and asked if I'm better off now than in 2008. The answer is yes, but if I gave Obama the credit, it would be unjustly ascribed. I am better off despite Obama rather than because of him.
In 2008, I was near rock bottom. I had quit a job cold turkey and moved to Vegas without a job in 2007 and was recently divorced when Obama was elected. That cost me ultimately almost $150,000 which amounts to more than all the money I took home during the time I was married. I sold my house for far above market value, but most of that money was eaten up by debts incurred by my ex wife, and I moved out with very little to my name, about the same as I had when I married her in the first place. I drove the car I still drive today. I moved in initially with my parents.
From there, things started to look up. By the time of the election, I had finally been promoted at work and had my first pay raise, but soon after Obama was sworn in, I took my first pay cut. Officially it was 5%, but with the increased fees for health care and PERS retirement (in lieu of Social Security), the real cut was 12%, meaning I now take home less than I did when I was hired despite being promoted. I have received zero raises during the Obama Administration but I have more work required of me. In my organization, the women earn more than the men. Meanwhile coworkers who are less qualified and who provide less of a contribution to the organization have been promoted and received raises. My job would have been cut if not for the fact that a coworker died, and so her position was cut in lieu of mine.
In 2010, I bought a house. Last month, it looks like it finally bottomed out in value, such that I owe less on it now than it's worth, but I put down 20% on it, which means I'm still down $20,000 or so from my initial investment. My property taxes are also down, but the HOA likes to harass me regularly despite the fact that my yard is the nicest one on the block. I will earn more money this year than any other year. This is also not because of Obama. It's because I work two jobs. I will spend 58 hours every week at work this semester, in addition to the work I do at home or during the commute or elsewhere. The extra money isn't because Obama did me a favor. It's because someone else vacated a job in Nevada for a better opportunity elsewhere.
I live without the burden of debt. This is because I live below my means. I still drive that 1995 Saturn I mention regularly. I do not have designer clothes or furniture or decor. I simply spend less than I earn. Despite that, my costs have risen. Gas prices are twice what they were when Obama took office. Food prices are up. Wages are down. My house is worth less money. Despite the stock market being up under Obama, my stocks are even, meaning they are worth exactly what I put in. Given how much money he printed, I expect a better return on the market than we have seen. Increased costs delay my purchase of things like a newer car, newer furniture, a newer kitchen, vacations, appliances, and landscaping in the back yard. I still do a lot of it myself to save money, which means I'm technically withholding money from the economy. With the Supreme Court sue me for not paying someone to do something for me that I can do more cheaply for myself? As long as I can get 38mpg in my car with no monthly payment, why would I pay for a hybrid, let alone a Chevy Volt?
I hold onto my money lest someone take it. During my time of prosperity, things have happened to me. I have been accused of things I didn't do and withstood those investigations. Twice my car has been damaged seriously. Two years ago, my ex wife took me back to court for more money. Women have chosen other men because of their wages or their smaller waist at a time when I spend 5-10 hours per week at the gym running, cycling, playing racquetball, lifting weights, etc. There's nothing sexy about being a Chemistry professor, so the extra pay hasn't transformed that part of my life.
I am better off, but none of these things are because of anything Obama has done. If I have benefitted from him, it was by accident. That's how OBama's great ideas and promises work. He is there to buoy up the government, and if you are enriched accidentally by crumbs from the table, they will take credit for it. Of course, nothing is their fault. They are perfect. Ironically enough, the people who are convinced they are right are usually wrong.
Obama's plan sucks. His record stinks. He has to talk about "memories of the future" like his wife said last night because the past doesn't corroborate the utopic picture he paints before our mind's eye. Obama's doing very well. He's a millionaire. He's better off. Are you? I can say I am. I cannot say it's because of Obama. In fact, I have eeked this out because of myself, despite the best efforts of the Lord of the Manor to glut himself with the fruit of my labor. Even if Romney wants to go back to 1950, it is clear that Obama wants to go back to 1050- Lords and Vassals. He will always go back to the mistaken notion that he can make people better. He will meddle. When they meddle, things change, but it's not always for the better.
Apparently it's backwards and evil to support Freedom and Opportunity and Private Property. If that's true, then I'm pleased to be Freedom's First Friend. Obama had nothing to do with the Declaration and the Constitution and the Revolution, and thank God for that. He makes Benedict Arnold look like a petty thief. If he's responsible for the good, he's responsible for the struggles too. You can't pick and choose. I'm from Vegas. We know buffets.
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