Are Americans Better or Worse Off Since January (2025)?

[Meister]

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I sure am. I filled up for $2.56 per gallon yesterday.

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2.95 here in north Idaho. A lot cheaper than the previous 4 years.
If I was working, I'd call it a pay increase.

 

[MarcATL]

With the horrendous state the economy is in everyone is worse off other than the mega rich

 

[wamose]

Much better under Trump. Order and sanity are returning to our country and the world because of Trump's leadership.

 

[struth]

Then why does every republican administration end in a recession?

Why for the first time since gallop.ever took the poll were a majority of Americans worse off after four years of xiden?

All sorts of things can cause a recession, it’s just two qtrs of no gdp growth. A virus for example can cause that

But it takes actual harmful policy to cause a majority of Americans to be worse off after four years.

 

[Superbadbrutha]

Those that aren't the base of either side.

Are you saying MAGA isn't real Americans?

 

[Bitterhook]

How were you doing in 2008?

How about 2020?

In 2008, splendid, in 2020 better than 2008, however in 2024 I was doing better than in 2020 and stand to do even better in 2025. I guess that I should add that I am not on welfare, do not have a government job or government subsidized job, I am not completely reliant on Presidential policy for any measure of success, and I am thankful that prudent decisions often outweigh political nonsense. I also understand that the current President has made remarkable improvements towards addressing what was previously a rather serious problem at our border, agreeing with the assessment of Mr. Hanson in the OP, regardless of how that may affect my immediate condition.

How were you doing in 2008, 2020 and 2024, and what do you attribute to either your successes or failures?

 

[Crepitus]

Except the Democrats damage other programs and needs also, which the Republicans have to repair, paying for such again, when wouldn't need to if the dimbocrats hadn't fugged things up.

Like?

 

[Crepitus]

Why for the first time since gallop.ever took the poll were a majority of Americans worse off after four years of xiden?

All sorts of things can cause a recession, it’s just two qtrs of no gdp growth. A virus for example can cause that

But it takes actual harmful policy to cause a majority of Americans to be worse off after four years.

Were they?

 

[OhPleaseJustQuit]

2.95 here in north Idaho. A lot cheaper than the previous 4 years.
If I was working, I'd call it a pay increase.

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I have to drive 25 miles for good groceries, so this is good news.

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[Crepitus]

In 2008, splendid, in 2020 better than 2008, however in 2024 I was doing better than in 2020 and stand to do even better in 2025. I guess that I should add that I am not on welfare, do not have a government job or government subsidized job, I am not completely reliant on Presidential policy for any measure of success, and I am thankful that prudent decisions often outweigh political nonsense. I also understand that the current President has made remarkable improvements towards addressing what was previously a rather serious problem at our border, agreeing with the assessment of Mr. Hanson in the OP, regardless of how that may affect my immediate condition.

How were you doing in 2008, 2020 and 2024, and what do you attribute to either your successes or failures?

I've been retired and living on savings/investments since late 2023 ( too early for SS) and the business I sold ran to high end clients domestically and internationally and proved to be remarkably recession resistant. But I am not representative of the whole nation. No one person really is.

So that isn't how it was for average Americans in 2008 and 2020 and isn't proving to be the case in 2025 either. People are hurting here and now.

But you already know all of that even if you'd rather deny it.

 

[struth]

Were they?

Yep

 

[Crepitus]

Yep

Feel free to back that up.

 

[Bitterhook]

I've been retired and living on savings/investments since late 2023 ( too early for SS) and the business I sold ran to high end clients domestically and internationally and proved to be remarkably recession resistant. But I am not representative of the whole nation. No one person really is.

So that isn't how it was for average Americans in 2008 and 2020 and isn't proving to be the case in 2025 either. People are hurting here and now.

But you already know all of that even if you'd rather deny it.

I don't assume to speak for the average of anything and will never fall victim to the trap of, "I am doing fine but it must really suck for a bunch of other people."

We can only speak to our experiences because the conditions of the lives of others are always influenced by variables we cannot account for. I am not writing a pass for failures in responsible governance, just emphasizing to what degree we need to beg the government to satisfy our needs.

Don't assume you know what I think or why, because I can assure you, I have challenged what I think and know it quite clearly.

 

[22lcidw]

With the horrendous state the economy is in everyone is worse off other than the mega rich

Where Progs screwed up was screwing with the oil industry while passing trillions and trillions of dollars of useless legislation the first two years of Joe. It took you just a few months to cause misery for people after joe was installed.

 

[Crepitus]

I don't assume to speak for the average of anything and will never fall victim to the trap of, "I am doing fine but it must really suck for a bunch of other people."

We can only speak to our experiences because the conditions of the lives of others are always influenced by variables we cannot account for. I am not writing a pass for failures in responsible governance, just emphasizing to what degree we need to beg the government to satisfy our needs.

Don't assume you know what I think or why, because I can assure you, I have challenged what I think and know it quite clearly.

I know people it sucked for then, and I know for a fact it sucks for people now.

 

[struth]

Feel free to back that up.

It’s been posted numerous times

Majority of Americans Feel Worse Off Than Four Years Ago

The slight majority of Americans say they are worse off than four years ago, while their assessments of the U.S. economy are subpar and inflation remains a key concern.

news.gallup.com

 

[Bitterhook]

I know people it sucked for then, and I know for a fact it sucks for people now.

I know some people in some pretty sucky positions too, and I wouldn't necessarily blame all their problems on the government, and in one case in particular they blame themself, but that person is conservative so I wouldn't expect they were looking for an excuse otherwise.

 

[Independent thinker]

A recent The Epoch Times opinion piece.
Victor Davis Hansen is an established and respected historian, and as any who really study history know, this is a subject area where one has to be a "Master of Many Trades" in that some general knowledge of many subjects helps in fitting the historical pieces together and providing context and perspective. VDH does an excellent job of this.
...

Victor Davis Hanson
Author
Victor Davis Hanson is a classicist and military historian. He is a professor emeritus of classics at California State University, a senior fellow in classics and military history at Stanford University, a fellow of Hillsdale College, and a distinguished fellow of the Center for American Greatness. Mr. Hanson has written 17 books, including “The Western Way of War,” “Fields Without Dreams,” “The Case for Trump,” and “The Dying Citizen.”
....

Are Americans Better or Worse Off Since January?​

11/7/2025|Updated: 11/11/2025

The left wing and media rage hysterically from one President Donald Trump psychodrama to the next, while Trump trolls both on social media.

But all that is verbiage. What matters are the data and facts of Trump’s first nine months since Jan. 20, 2025, in comparison to either former President Joe Biden’s previous year or the averages of his four years in office.


Take the border. No one knows how many illegal aliens entered or stayed in the United States during Biden’s four years of open borders. What is clear is that he set a presidential record of more than 7 million illegal entrants.

The border under Trump is now tightly closed. Before his administration, it was common for 10,000 people to cross illegally in a single day. In just nine months, approximately 2 million illegal aliens have been deported or self-deported. The rate of border crossings is now the lowest it’s ever been since 1970.
...

Are Americans Better or Worse Off Since January?

www.theepochtimes.com

Our border was definitely way too open under Biden and too many dangerous persons were able to enter our country and then go into seclusion. We now have too many buried threats and foreign agents who mean harm to the USA.

I'm way better off.

 

[Stryder50]

EXCERPT:
Vice President JD Vance just revealed the numbers that explain why working families are finally feeling relief. Speaking to Breitbart News, Vance disclosed that Trump’s policies have helped raise Americans’ wages by roughly $1,200 per person – and that’s after adjusting for inflation. This isn’t campaign rhetoric or wishful thinking; it’s cold, hard math backed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing average hourly earnings climbing to $36.67, with consistent growth of 3.8% over the past year. (Remember when they said Trump would tank the economy? Yeah, about that…)

JD Vance Cites Data Showing Trump Policies Raised Inflation-Adjusted Wages By $1,200, Reversing Biden-Era Losses

He tells us what's really going on!

istandforfreedom.com

 

[g5000]

A recent The Epoch Times opinion piece.

Epoch Times.

Victor Davis Hansen is an established and respected historian

Hanson, with an o, is a right wing crackpot conspiracy theorist, moron.

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