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Subscribe to RSSThis year’s presidential election may hinge on voters’ wallets.
More than half of Americans say their own financial well-being is the most important factor, or among the most important factors, when it comes to deciding who’ll they’ll pull the lever for come November, according to a study released Monday by Bankrate.com.
“How Americans feel about the U.S. economy and their own finances will be central to the election on Nov. 6,” said Claes Bell, senior banking expert with Bankrate.com. “While unemployment will probably be above that 7.2 percent historical benchmark when the election takes place, the key question will be whether Americans are comfortable with the progress that has been made since the economy took a turn for the worse.”
The telephone survey, that polled 1,000 adults earlier this month, also found voters were “deeply divided about which candidate will help households get back on track financially.”
- 21 percent said their personal financial situations would be better under former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney
- 21 percent said they would be better under President Barack Obama
- And 8 percent were undecided.
But a majority, 50 percent, said whoever wins come November probably wouldn’t make much of a difference when it came to their wallets.
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"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." -- Thomas Jefferson
I'm not happy with how things are going, but I think if Romney wins things will be much, much worse, unless you are part of his 1% buddies.
Obviously you arent that bright because they can only get worse the longer Obama is in office.
How so?
Yup Yup, I'm all better since Obama took over. Can't wait for the new Government soup lines..Yum!
Since even Bush's treasury secretary said without massive stimulus spending our economic collapse would be worse than 1929. Is your personal situation worse than it would have been if our economy had endured that? I think not, thank Obama.
Thank Bush he put the package together. Not Obama.
Sorry, Bush stepped aside during those discussions, or don't you remember? He was a horrible "leader" and a lame-brained "decider"
Sorry no he didnt and all your liberal revisionism wont change that.
Yea! Let's vote Republican! You know - they say they are the ECONOMIC GENIUSES and only they have the answer to fix America's Economy!
YEA!
And ya know, we can cite, as proof, the states in which Republicans have been in political & economic control of - FOR DECADES AND DECADES AND DECADES - and prove just how wonderful they're doing when compared to Blue States.
What??? You say that those states are doing HORRIBLY? That Blue States are at the top of every list of successful states?
Wow. But then - if they DIDN'T fix the South's economy, and they AREN'T the economic geniuses they claim they are - why would anyone vote for them? Why would they think the Republicans have the answer to fix America when they can't even fix an inbred hick state like Alabama or Mississippi?
What??? Because they're idiots?
Oh.
What has Obama fixed in 4 years.
Here let me answer for you NOTHING.
Samuel Adams--there was an article today on MSN listing the top states for increasing their economy. The list was nearly evenly divided between green and blue states. BUT--and this is a big but, the states gaining are gaining in mostly one of three places: 1) oil and mining {AK, TX, WV, and NDak} 2) in 'tech segments' {CA, OR, WA, UT} and manufacturing. {Michigan} with ONE owing most of its gains to the FINANCIAL sector. You know, the hated 1 percenters who make money off of loaning to the poor and conning them into investing in bad investments. Oops, only that one state is CT, and it is heavily DEM.
And in Michigan, those figures represent cars sold that cost every man woman anc child money to pay for them in the form of bailouts. Meanwhiile, Michigan STILL has unemployment over 10%.
And several of the states that make this list ALSO make a list of those states with the greatest number of people receiving government hand outs.
And whether you will admit it or not, my own home town in Central MO has for YEARS attracted new industries to town by giving them tax breaks, and in EVERY case the 'loss' of those tax moneys (which were NOT lost, as NOBODY was paying much in taxes on empty land) was MORE than made up for by payroll and sales taxes.
So yeah, Mitt DOES have an idea for how to pick up employment. It is tried and true, and only fades away when the municipality tries to 'kill' the golden goose, because there are ALWAYS states/countries who WILL offer that break to them.
Meanwhile, the states doing the worst (pub or dem) are STILL the states whose workers do NOT have job quals to keep up, (and seem to be unwilling or unable to help themselves GET those) and whose citizens (and non citizens) have exasperated the situation by becoming permanent draws on the government's 'entitlements.'.
i read that same article and i seem to remember reading another article that in those states where they are doing the oil fracking they are finding the oil companies are not getting rid of the poluted water properly and it is contaminating the land , also if Mitt has such a grand plan about how to fix unemployment(he thinks he can do 400 to 500k new jobs a month), why hasnt he talked about how he would do it, or immigration reform(he dodged that ques 3 times yesterday on tv), what about womens rights, or what programs he will cut to pay for his tax cuts, he does say he will back Ryans plan- which cuts ss and medicare (or vouchers as repubs put it). Obama has made mistakes but i havnt heard anything positive from Romney yet to convince me to vote for him. at some point he needs to explain his plans as does Obama- IMO
Can you prove that statement or is that another liberal lie.
al- if that is directed to me- i dont need to prove anything to you or anybody else, you can either get your facts like i do by researching and listening to more than one source or you can go on living in your small little world believing what you want- and i'm more than a liberal- i'm an American who has fought for and still believes in this country- and i will vote for who i believe can do the best job for this country-
You made a statement prove it.
The welfare system is coming to a county near you, please sign up in advance for free money and food stamps, plz don't worry about valid ID's that would be discrimination. Signing bonus for early sign up..plz hurry, voter registration included with another bonus.
Obama's lagacy is the welfare president. He hates businesses and it shows. All the regulation and Obama care have stifled the recovery. It isnt working he has had his chance now its time for some real change.
Except for all that bailout cash to all those corporations.
Oh, and Solyndra, etc.
Oh yeah Solyndra you are a fu cking joke. A green energy waste of money.
How do you pi ss away 500 million dollars you give it to Solyndra.
Typical right wing rhetoric, spewing nonsense and ignoring facts. Obama hasn't changed any rules on welfare, food stamps, medicaid or any other government program. He has more people using those programs because ole GW wrecked the economy, maybe you noticed.
Solyndra didn't work out just like the 10's of billions we give to the major oil companies every year under republican back door deals.
He is the welfare president and that will be his legacy.
In one example - Bush's defense department shipped $12 BILLION in cash on pallets to Iraq and lost it! With NO accountability... And the GOP managed to sweep that under the rug.
At least Solyndra (1 investment that failed among a rather successful portfolio in new energy technologies) was a strategic energy choice made when silicon sources were in short supply. In the banking world it's called a hedge and in a sense, it worked.
Bush tanked our economy and left the next group to pick up the tab. Great leadership.
The private sector is doing just fine, if they were not they would not be investing billions in buying the next election. They are buying the electorate a few things too, dirtier water and dirtier air, minimum wage jobs, bigger class size and hence, a less aware electorate, that can be more easily bought. Why would one businessman spend a hundred million dollars of his own mone on a candidate, whom by his own admission he does not like very much, unless he knows he will reap billions from the coffers if his candidate is elected. Some research suggests that this money is also flowing in from China. What will we owe them come January 2013.
Your almost as full of sh it as Obama.
Tell Obama to register his money he is receiveing from Soro's,
Wall Street and BP.
Frank--REALLY? Are you REALLY so naive as to think that the "private sector" is ONLY made up of Republican owned/managed companies?
Or that the 'buying of the election candidates by companies has not been happening on BOTH sides for decades? With most companies donating to BOTH candidates to hedge their bets?
As for the typical 'talking points' about the PUBS all being for dirty water, dirty air, minimum waged jobs (as opposed to NO jobs?), REALLY? Sorry, but my state was run for years by DEMS who contributed to the pollution, and it was under a PUB (Kit Bond, who I NEVER voted for!) that the regs were put in place to IMPROVE air Quality? and it was under OBAMA that the Corps of Engineers made the stellar decision to "let MO flood" to protect a New Orleans that HE had done nothing to rebuild the levees and undo the damage that the Corps had done over the decades to straighten out the river and eliminate the 'swamps' that USED to protect the city from Hurricanes. (JUST like Bush, but then, Obama promised NOT to be 'just like Bush) Millions of acres of farmland in MO have been RUINED by that, because in 'blowing up' the levee, the flood waters took with them all the sand bags dumping all that sand on some of the finest farmland in the country, that will bed DECADES recovering.
Anyway, if you TRULY believe that ONLY Pubs and pub business owners donate money in campaigns, do some research. And please note that BOTH donate to BOTH candidates.
MOMaid, we're in a whole new era of campaign finance since the Roberts court decided that free speech entitled non-people (corporations) to say whatever they want and buy the biggest megaphone to say it. VERY undemocratic. And most of the money is coming from just a few billionaires, most of whom earn their money in not very clean ways. Nice to have a system rigged in your favor now set up to tilt further in your favor.
Romney is chanting "it's about JOB creation".
But where's the plan that backs that up?
Neither of these candidates is likely to be an effective leader since they have long since been bought off by huge, silent, secret money with alternate agendas.
We are a bureaucratic corporatocracy, and getting in deeper to the corporate and special interests every day.
The common man has no position in this game. You can vote until you are blue in the face but nothing will happen until the money is ousted from politics.
Wheres Obama's plan in fact what has Obama done in the last three years except blame Bush. Time for the Keyan to go.
Yeah, remember Obama's 'shovel ready jobs' spiel?
That was a good one.
No, neither of these guys give me any hope.
Well all I know is that country cant take 4 more years of Obama. He has to go.
Uh huh.
Do you honestly think this country can handle 4 more years of no action then go and vote for Obama.
Flylow guy--and lets just remember which candidate in 2008, who had introduced legislation to limit financial campaign donations, agreed from the get-to (and stuck to it) to ONLY use federal money in his campaign, (that would be McCain)
And which candidate declined federal money because he knew he could raise that much exponentially from HIS buddies.
That would be Obama.
I voted for him last time, and gave him the 4 years he asked for. I have not agreed with most of his actions and have violently DISagreed with many more, so I will be giving Mitt HIS four years. And at the end of that, if HE has not succeeded, I'll be voting for HIS replacement in 2016.
I'll be voting for the dogs in November... I'd rather be a dog on Romney's family than be a dog in Obama's family.
it's a dog eat dog world out there
You callin' Dear Leader Chairman MaoBama a dog eater?
Obama has to go... America cannot handle 4 more years of "Bush's" failures.
Well real leaders take the cards they are dealt and fix the problems. They dont blame others. The real issue is Obama is no leader.
So why bring in a Bush clone before the damage from the last one's been fixed?
Why key a do nothing socialist waste of skin in there.
You say he is doing nothing and then call him a socialist!! Which is it?
I'm making more money now than at any other time in my life...GoBama 2012!
Good for you, unfortunately you are the exception instead of the rule.
goosedots processes welfare applications for a living.
What is your obsession with welfare?
ANYBODY but Obama and the current Congress. With the exception of Ron Paul, ALL of Congress should be fired.
Out of all the Republican Candidates I believe Ron Paul was the only credible choice you had.
I think Ron Paul was a little squirely but I can say he does have integrity.
I'll say no thanks on the Pandering Puppet name Romney.
I'll be voting for President Obama.
If people really do vote with their wallets this November, Romney in a landslide.
We've allowed the extreme left wing children of the 70's liberals loose in the White House. We practiced on some socialism in the 60's and early 70's, sat around the living room having a little toke, plotting to overthrow the government, cause we KNEW we were smarter than everyone else and had all the answers for America. This President is hopefully the last we'll see of that bunch. Hopefully they've not forever tainted actual progressives, because they've sure tarnished the Democratic Party.
The real facts' the economy crash was already started before Obama got elected and so was the deficit already in the trillions. Obama or no other president could fix what the Republicans destroyed in three years not even with a magic wand. The Republicans never even mentioned the word deficit when the Bushes were at the helm. Its amazing that some dont seem to understand that the economy mess belongs to the Republicans.
Don, the mess belongs to liberalism. Liberal Republicans and Liberal Democrats.
Wake up man. If you're still in the Democrat vs. Republican paradigm... you're sound asleep.
Yeah so we excuse Obama and the 5 trillion he added. Typical liberal arent you.
Don, sorry, but if Obama had stuck to his campaign promises, he'd have IMMEDIATELY pulled us out of Iraq and Afghanistan. How much deficit would THAT have saved. He'd have cracked down on e-verify violations and how many US jobs would that have saved, in addition to how much welfare/school costs/etc?
He'd have waited for the economy to rally before dumping a POS 'health care' billl that NO one wants, onto the country, KILLING job creation.
Obama said 6 months in that officially at that point, the economy was HIS. Funny, for the last two years, since Americans expressed their disapproval at the ballot box and swept in a Repoblican House, all of a sudden he is back to blaming Bush.
Too bad he made that speech about how if he hadn't fixed 'it' in 4 years, he deserved to be one and done.
What about extending and extending unemployment benefits, people getting their mortgages written off, and now letting illegals get away with things. Those of you who think that they don't get benefits, I would like to introduce to the the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus. Free schooling, with free lunches provided, WIC, using emergency rooms as their health care, and probably lots more things.
Has anyone realized that Romney has stopped talking about what he would as president. He just blames Obama and doesn't offer a solution for anything. He can't duck this for the entire campaign. I like to hear his solutions and how he plans on dealing with an uncooperative Congress much like Obama, Bush, Clinton (well, they did balance the budget and left a surplus), Bush, Reagan, Carter, Ford, Nixon, Johnson (well they did balance the budget), Kennedy, Eisenhower, Truman and Roosevelt (x4).
Who does Obama blame in fact who has he continued to blame for the last three years even for his own failures. BUSH
So, you're asking for a big government program to fix failed big government programs???
Axing failed big government programs is the answer. Liberals won't allow it.
I agree they can start with the education Dept, EPA and the Energy Dept. They are complete waste of the tax payers money.
Yes lets roll back the government to 1890's level even though we are in the 21st century who needs roads and clean water!
Clinton's 'balanced budget' was done because he HAD a CONGRESS that was Repub. Of course, Clinton was smart enough to read the writing on the wall and 'co-opt' most of the pubs stuff as his own, expecially his Health Care bill got dropped when it was apparent that it was not wanted, and could not pass.
Possibly a lesson Obama should have learned.
Alt - You're either a paid political poster or a troll.
The cabal on the right wants nothing more than uneducated masses to vote against their own self interests and do not care if you live in squalor begging for crumbs while wrapping themselves in patriotism as you send off your sons to fight for their wealth in the far corners of the world.
I don't believe that either party is capable of any reasonable solutions. The Democrats are lame and the Republicans are evil. I am not sure about President Obama but I am positive that Romney will be under the complete control of a handful of billionaires like the Koch brothers. He's exactly what Norquist wants, someone to sign their crap into law.
Well you need to include Soros, Wall Street and Hollyweird in Obama's equation. He is not without sin here. The fiasco doesnt belong to the Republicans anymre Obama has made it ten times worse with his Keysian nut theories.
The only programs Obama continued with were what Bush started. Bush destroyed 11 trillion in net worth and 400 billion in yearly revenue according to Romney. The only increased spending Obama's done is to help the people Bush put out of work. Romney also supported all the stimulus spending except bailing out the auto companies.
Let's ship our activist president back to Chicago, where he can organize things so that less than 7 people are murdered every single weekend. Vote your wallet. It is the ecomomy, (whatever the Chinese word is for stupid). Oh, it is pronounced Obama.
Good Lord people! When are you going to wake up and smell the coffee!!!
If you are not a 1%er, the GOP could not care less about you, haven't you learned anything in the last few years? The Right set out, from day one, to ensure Pres. Obama could not get anything done! They have proven, beyond any doubt, that they are more than willing to trash the country, no matter who it hurts, rather than let that n****r in the White House get anything good done. It's disgusting, and the entire Rethuglican party should be tried for treason and executed!
When you going to wake up Obama could give a sh it less about you. This man has lied through his teeth for the last three years to the American people. He has taken a bad situation and made ten times worse. He demonizes industry to the point if I was them I wouldnt hire anyone either. He is an idiot and its time for him to go.
"should be executed"..... Stalin, Mao, Hitler, Pol-Pot, Mussolini and Castro were leftists too and killed their political opposition.
"rather than let that n****r in the White House get anything good done"... Oh yeah.... it's 'cuz he's black. You're a total f'kn partisan, MSNBC zombie, Obamabot, racist F'kn idiot.
I'm sure Romneys plan to lower his tax rate 10% and paying for it by eliminating the home mortgage deduction and employer health care exemption will really help. A reverse Robin Hood.
Where is Obama's plan you liberals are quick to jump on Romney and the Republicans but where is your plans.
No answer Larry I didnt think so.
It just SLAYS me how many people operate on the assumption that everyone who is a "1%er" is an evil PUB. Just go check on Congress alone, and see how many of the richest are DEMS. (and isn't it AMAZING that noone held KERRY's millions against HIM and he didn't do ONE thing to earn HIS--he just MARRIED a rich widow. You'd also be surprised at how many of the uber rich business owners are DEMS.
And as a firm member of the 'NON' 1%, but as a person who all my life HAVE paid taxes on my less than $50K in income, while 50% of the people pay NOTHING, I have a little trouble with deciding why YOU think the ones who have succeeded are the bad guys.
What is really profound here is the average American's belief that the world's largest economy can be significantly influenced by one person. As time progresses and national economies become more interwoven, a single nation's leadership becomes more powerless in controlling its own economy. This only becomes even more uncontrollable when the nation's leadership on both sides of the aisle do nothing more than obstruct, pander to special interest groups and point the finger at the other side when times get tough.
Enough already.
Yeah Obama care and and all the additional rules and regulations this president and his party have added to the process over the last three years have had no effect what so ever. Shall I throw the bull sh it flag or do you want to.
Obama took what was a bad situation and has made ten times worse. In fact every time this dip sh it opens his mouth the Dow falls 200 points. Its time for him to go.
Nothing about Obamacare that's cost anyone a penney has been implemented yet.
al...thanks for proving my point with your endless anti-Obama diatribe.
Obama has spent more then all the presidents combined your lies no longer cut it and Obama is no longer gets a pass.
Oilman I am sorry I told the truth about your dear leader. Live with it you choose poorly voting for the socialist in chief.
Larry you are so full of sh it and a partisan . The facts are that businesses in this country have refused to hire and one of thier main reasons sited was Obama care and the uncertainty of all the screwed up decisions this president and the Democrat have made.
al...again, thanks for proving my point with your drivel about "who spent more." Aside from being quite incorrect, you don't have the brains to fill a thimble much less look at the entire landscape objectively. My 10 year old nephew has a greater capacity to think (not to mention write complete sentence). Please show us all references to your "facts" about small business not wanting to hire because of new policy that hasn't even taken effect yet.
Proving what point that you are a liberal idiot. Well that was a given Oilman.
man you are stupid...I can see I would have a more intellectual exchange with a house plant.
And you have a Gentic defect called liberalism. Go fu ck yourself tard.
Oilman-so does your 10 year old nephew believe that if his grandmother gave him 10 dollars for his birthday, that he should be able to buy a computer with it? And that whether you or your wife OR his grandmother has any money, they should have to loan it to him?
If so, that explains a lot.
Oilman, You speak the truth. The worst part is the Republican agenda will eventually hurt them as well due to the lack of demand which is the only true "Job Creator"
The race to the bottom of the heap has begun.
Surving through Reaganomics was tough. Beans everyday but we got through it. To those of you that talk about welfare and food stamps, where were they when I needed them? Even though my dad was unemployed and my mom made minimum wage, we never qualified for any benefits. But we survived both Reagan and Daddy Bush.
Then came the Clinton years and things were great. Both my parents were employed and I was in college. I got married and started a small business. Business was great until Bush Jr.'s second term. The only good year we had during his presidency was 2008, when the stimulus checked were sent and many locals decided to spend their money in my business.
Since Obama came in, things have gotten better, slowly. I decided that if I'm going to live in poverty I might as well enjoy what I'm doing so I quit public school and instead teach at a private school. Things have been great.
I'm looking forward to another 4 great years with President Obama. I voted for him last time and I will vote for him again, even if my vote doesn't count since I live in Texas, land of the stupid and racist, a bad combination.
Texas teacher--so you got the benefit of a STIMULUS in 2008? (do you perhaps mean the Bush TAX CUTS?) Because you DO know that Obama didn't even take the OATH until 2009? You also know that 6 of Clinton's 8 years, he had a PUB congress? So surely SOME of the benefits your family got during the Clinton admin MUST have been because the PUB dominated CONGRESS was limiting pork spending and forcing Clinton to BALANCE the budget?
AMAZING how if your mind is already made up, you can see any facts the way you want without the interference of reality. ;}