Press Release
09/25/08New Report Asks The Reagan Question: “Are You Better Off?”
Washington: Governor Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Charles Schumer (D-NY) today joined Third Way for the release of their new study: Are You Better Off?, a look at how middle class families have fared in the last eight years. This study compares data from 2001-08 with the period 1993-2000, looking at 18 specific measurements of success. It finds that in 16 of those areas, America and Americans are worse off than they were eight years ago, and it concludes that a typical working household is worse off by an estimated total of $94,929 compared to the previous eight years. “The Administration’s economic policies have been disastrous for folks on Wall Street and on Main Street,” said Governor Manchin, Chair of the Democratic Governors Association (DGA). “This report confirms that hardworking Americans aren’t better off today than they were under President Clinton’s leadership.”
Senator Stabenow agreed and stated: “The economic crisis our nation faces today is no accident. It is the culmination of failed Republican policies that have been promoted for years. American families cannot endure another four years of record unemployment, $4.00 per gallon gas prices and middle-class families losing their homes. That is why we need an administration that will put families first and keep good-paying jobs here at home.”
The report, commissioned by the DGA, takes its name and inspiration from the question that Ronald Reagan posed at the close of his debate in 1980 with President Jimmy Carter: “Ask yourself – are you better off today than you were four years ago?” Examining areas such as income, gas prices, college tuition, investment income, home equity, consumer debt and costs for health care, child care and food, the study offers a typical household’s “balance sheet” that reveals that the average family is worse off by nearly $95,000.The report also looks at the nation’s “balance sheet,” and finds the country worse off in GDP, unemployment, health care coverage, retirement coverage, new jobs created, patent applications, government debt, and the trade deficit.
Senator Schumer noted the challenges facing families and the nation: “Today, an unregulated mortgage market has created a housing crisis the likes of which we haven’t seen in fifty years. And now, thanks to that failure to properly regulate the mortgage and financial markets, we face an unprecedented crisis that will only further pressure American families. Our commitment to action will only stave off disaster, it will not repair the underlying problems of an economy with too few jobs, too little income growth, and too many rising costs. This Third Way report makes clear that this administration has not done enough to improve the economic situation of most Americans by every measure. And I expect their response to the question will be the same as it was twenty-eight years ago – that it is time for a change.”
Governor Manchin agreed, noting that “Governors are working hard to strengthen state economies – and some states, like West Virginia, are doing far better than the national economy. We’re hearing it from coast to coast. The effects of this administration’s failed economic policies have human faces, and they are struggling to make ends meet.”
The study’s lead author and Third Way’s VP for Policy, Jim Kessler, concluded: “When Ronald Reagan asked Americans if they were better off, he intended for them to make the decision with their gut. We took out our calculators to see what the hard data showed, and the answer is an unequivocal no.”
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Contact: Matt Bennett (202) 775-3768 x212