Poll, are you better off or worse off

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

Simple quest to gauge the community 

Edited August 9, 2022 by Over 29 years of fanhood

[ArdmoreRyno]

I'm about the same since Covid, but since Biden took office... def. not as well. 

[Demongyz]

Covid did nothing to me, Since Biden took over times have gotten more difficult even while making more money.

Let's Go Brandon!

[ArdmoreRyno]

1 minute ago, Demongyz said:

Covid did nothing to me, Since Biden took over times have gotten more difficult even while making more money.

Let's Go Brandon!

SAME here

[ChiGoose]

Got a new job this year with a significant pay bump and better work-life balance. Definitely doing way better than I was when I was working 60-80 hours per week for peanuts.

 

Has nothing to do with who was president though.

[nedboy7]

Pretty sure the cult is mentally unstable since Biden took over. 

 

8 minutes ago, Demongyz said:

Covid did nothing to me, Since Biden took over times have gotten more difficult even while making more money.

Let's Go Brandon!

 

So you are doing better.  Good for you.

[Demongyz]

Just now, nedboy7 said:

Pretty sure the cult is mentally unstable since Biden took over. 

 

 

So you are doing better.  Good for you.

If my money being worth a lot less and my 401k tanking, sure!

[nedboy7]

Just now, Demongyz said:

If my money being worth a lot less and my 401k tanking, sure!

 

The stock market goes up and down.  Don't panic.  

[Demongyz]

Just now, nedboy7 said:

 

The stock market goes up and down.  Don't panic.  

I won't, I listen to the Oracle of Omaha.

[SoCal Deek]

34 minutes ago, nedboy7 said:

 

The stock market goes up and down.  Don't panic.  

Brilliant! Wasn’t the question though. 

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

2 hours ago, Demongyz said:

If my money being worth a lot less and my 401k tanking, sure!

Yep, those equal worse off for sure imo. 
 

T and those are the two meaningful topics beyond all this other non-sense; your life savings and what it costs to live. 
 

I’m even personally in a situation that despite moving in the right direction in career, what I’d afforded by the fruits of that labor is much less than just a few years ago. And the retirement plan has been obliterated between cost of living skyrocketing and invested savings plummeting. 

[BillsFanNC]

Worse.  They stole a full year of in person schooling from my kids, that's first and foremost.  I'll always despise these ghouls for doing that.  Personally my business suffered in not being to get into many labs due to the unnecessary lockdowns.  Not many institutions are willing to buy a $200k instrument based on a zoom call.  Things are finally starting to get back to normal in that respect.

Edited August 9, 2022 by DRsGhost

[BillStime]

12 minutes ago, DRsGhost said:

Worse.  They stole a full year of in person schooling from my kids, that's first and foremost.  I'll always despise these ghouls for doing that.  Personally my business suffered in not being to get into many labs due to the unnecessary lockdowns.  Not many institutions are willing to buy a $200k instrument based on a zoom call.  Things are finally starting to get back to normal in that respect.

Ghouls lolz

 

If only your man took the threat seriously in November 2019 instead of  wishing it away.

 

 

[Beach]

my business is tourism based.  worst year ever!

[nedboy7]

3 hours ago, Demongyz said:

I won't, I listen to the Oracle of Omaha.

yeah. He is a liberal. Probably the most respected investor in America is a democrat.  

[Demongyz]

3 minutes ago, nedboy7 said:

yeah. He is a liberal. Probably the most respected investor in America is a democrat.  

Yeah, I'm a liberal too.  Definitely conservative on some fronts.  Like investment strategy.  Very conservative, like Warren Buffet.

[SoCal Deek]

1 hour ago, BillStime said:

Ghouls lolz

 

If only your man took the threat seriously in November 2019 instead of  wishing it away.

 

 

You’re of course right. We lost so many school aged children to Covid 19. 😂😂😂😂. Oh wait….no we didn’t.

[BillsFanNC]

1 minute ago, SoCal Deek said:

You’re of course right. We lost so many school aged children to Covid 19. 😂😂😂😂. Oh wait….no we didn’t.

 

Less in a year than we lose to influenza.

 

Ghouls.

 

 

[Orlando Buffalo]

1 hour ago, DRsGhost said:

Worse.  They stole a full year of in person schooling from my kids, that's first and foremost.  I'll always despise these ghouls for doing that.  Personally my business suffered in not being to get into many labs due to the unnecessary lockdowns.  Not many institutions are willing to buy a $200k instrument based on a zoom call.  Things are finally starting to get back to normal in that respect.

You should consider Florida- I was back teaching in August of 2020 my students. We also were more normal in October 2020 than NYS was in October 2021, and all while having lower Covid numbers than NY.

[The Frankish Reich]

8 hours ago, Demongyz said:

If my money being worth a lot less and my 401k tanking, sure!

The S&P 500 closed at 4122 today.

I chose February 14, 2020 as a pretty good date for "just before the start of COVID." (that's the poll question). You know what it closed at on that date?

Answer: 3380.

In other words, even given the recent correction (Or is it a bear market? Call it what you like), the markets are UP about 22% since just before COVID became a thing in the United States.

You feel poor because the S&P 500 hit 4800 on January 4 2022. So it's down about 14% since then. But still UP a ton since pre-COVID days.

I say this not to be an ass, but just to point out that people's sense of happiness or satisfaction is always relative, not absolute. I think objectively most Americans are better off today than they were 2.5 years ago. 

But here's what I think may be going on: deep down a lot of us have a sense that this is a bubble economy. Low interest rates, quantitative easing, huge money handouts to lots and lots of people ... there's a sense that it's gonna end, and the end will be ugly.