ARE YOU BETTER OFF NOW? HELL YEAH!

Last week at the Teapublican National Convention - amongst all of the lies we were told - Romney posed the question "Are you better off that you were four years ago."  As far as I can see, yes we are.  I am going to try to cut through all of the lies and misinformation, address everything and let the facts speak for themselves - regardless of the erroneous figures and Tea Party issued standard comebacks I'll get in response to this blog - and be done with this until November 6th.

First, let me address what the Teapublicans have labeled "Obamacare" - which in the real world is called The Affordable Healthcare Act - and, by the way, is very similar to what Romney put in place as Governor of Masschucetts.  This was a forty-year struggle to get a plan passed that would provide health care to ALL Americans and simply because the John Boehners and Mitch McConnells have their collective noses out of joint over the fact that it finally passed under Obama does not make it any less a good idea.  Under The Affordable Healthcare Act, insurance companies can no longer deny children with pre-existing conditions life-saving coverage and in 2014, they'll no longer be able to deny ANY AMERICAN coverage because of their pre-existing conditions. "ObamaCare" helped to close up the donut hole for seniors and gives them free wellness care, as well as free women's yearly wellness care.  This is a GOOD thing.  I'll hear that 63% of Amercia didn't want this - a statistic that has NO basis in fact - and that government has no business butting into our lives - a fair statement, but it always has and in this case the benefits outweigh the intrusion.

Now, onto jobs and the economy.  Four years ago, I quit my job and made a drastic change in my life, so my take on the job front is considerably different than most.  My business is thriving and most of the people I know who faced lay-offs are now working again. 401K's have doubled in the since early 2009. America is no longer losing 760,000 jobs a month. Truth: The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office reported Obama's stimulus package has created 3.3 million jobs over 29 straight months of job growth. Four out of five economists agree. Romeny's VP choice Paul Ryan himself wrote letters requesting stimulus money, though now he lies about it. Manufacturing is growing in America after a decade worth of decline. Housing has stablized and is expected to start growing over the next 12 months. We are out of one war and bringing the second to a close.

We have made significant advances in the last 4 years, but we have much more work to do. Not everyone has found that job or been able to buy/sell that home. We have started the hard work and we need to continue to move FORWARD, not turn back to the failed policies that brought this country to its knees!  At the end of the day, I think Obama loves his family, his wife, his fellow man and his country...and that alone makes us better off than we were four years ago.  I can't see the same being said four years from now, should Romney and Ryan get elected.