"Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?": Response # 21

Since Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and the GOP have asked, I will answer their question.
Response # 21 to the question:  "Are YOU better off than you were 4 years ago?"
The answer is yes.  Yes, I am better off. 
I am better off, because my kids, and other young adults, are better off.  
It used to be that when you turned 21, everything changed....because suddenly you were considered an adult.  You got married (if you weren't already), had some kids, held down a job, bought a house....
Now, most new adults, turning 21, are still in school--college, trade school, whatever.  A large majority still live at home, and still need some sort of support from their parents.  They especially need health insurance.  
One of the first provisions of the Affordable Care Act to take effect was the one that allows adult children to stay on their parents' insurance until age 26.  
Thanks to that, parents are resting a little easier these days, knowing their kids are covered.

"Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?": Response # 20

Since Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and the GOP have asked, I will answer their question.
Response # 20 to the question:  "Are YOU better off than you were 4 years ago?"
The answer is yes.  Yes, I am better off. 
I am better off, and I daresay many others are better off, because we can still buy automobiles made in the United States. 
And THAT's a big, good thing here in the Midwest.

"Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?": Response # 19

Since Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and the GOP have asked, I will answer their question.
Response # 19 to the question:  "Are YOU better off than you were 4 years ago?"
The answer is yes.  Yes, I am better off.
19 is a good number.  The 19th Amendment to the US Constitution gave women the right to vote.  
I think women sometimes take that right for granted.  We become complacent, think that our elected officials are certainly, really going to always, totally think about women and their needs, their desires.  
2010 was a wake-up call, particularly for young women.  For while male Republican candidate after male Republican candidate ran on a platform of "Jobs, jobs, jobs," their true agendas soon become frighteningly clear.  In far too many state legislatures in 2011 and 2012, laws were passed to deny women the right to control their own health care choices.  It's frightening to think how easy it was for the Republican party to bamboozle women, and horrifying to consider what could be next.  
So why does this make me better off than I was 4 years ago?  Because women are angry.  When women are angry, they take action to protect themselves and their offspring, their sisters, their mothers.  As Sarah Palin once said, "Here in Alaska, I always think of the mama grizzly bears that rise up on their hind legs when somebody’s comin’ to attack their cubs, to do something adverse toward their cubs. Ya thought pit bulls were tough! Well, ya don’t wanna mess with the mama grizzlies."
No indeed.  You don't want to mess with those female grizzlies--they're angry, and they're going to vote.  

"Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?": Response # 18

Since Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and the GOP have asked, I will answer their question.
Response # 18 to the question:  "Are YOU better off than you were 4 years ago?"
The answer is yes.  Yes, I am better off.
I am better off because many young people in this country are better off than they were four years ago.  In fact, as recently as last year, these young people were in a state of suspension, because their families brought them here illegally.  But in August 2012, President Obama ordered "Deferred Action" for these children and young adults, meaning they will not be forced to leave this country for the foreseeable future.  Meaning these young people can start to plan a future--finish high school, go to college, into the military, you name it.  Without fear of deportation to a country they do not call home.  
But why am I better off?  Because these kids will go on to do things--to be successful, to make this world a better place.  
All because an American president allowed them to dream.     

"Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?": Response # 17

Since Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and the GOP have asked, I will answer their question.
Response # 17 to the question:  "Are YOU better off than you were 4 years ago?"
The answer is yes.  Yes, I am better off. 
Before Barack Obama was elected president, the wall of presidents looked pretty homogeneous--all male, all white.  I wasn't convinced that anything more diverse could be allowed, and that was sad, and frustrating.  Oh sure, there have been women who have run for president or vice president (Victoria Woodhull, Shirley Chisholm, Geraldine Ferraro, Hilary Clinton, Sarah Palin), but not one of them has yet to win.  
But the election of Barack Obama changed that.  His election gave me hope for no other reason than when people think about who has been president in this country, their image is not just pale and same ol', same ol'.  
So yes, I am better off than I was four years ago--my president has color.  And a new perspective.

"Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?": Response # 16

Since Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and the GOP have asked, I will answer their question.
Response # 16 to the question:  "Are YOU better off than you were 4 years ago?"
The answer is yes.  Yes, I am better off.  
Four years ago, we had a couple of windmills in Indiana.  Today, I can [practically] see windmills from my house!  
Thanks to the stimulus package, proposed by President Obama, entrepreneurs in Indiana have invested money in alternative energy--wind farms!  Windmills, as far as the eye can see, providing electricity.  Brilliant!

We have windmills downtown.....

And out in the country....

Yes indeed, I am better off than I was four years ago.  And future generations will be too.

"Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?": Response # 15

Since Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and the GOP have asked, I will answer their question.
Response # 15 to the question:  "Are YOU better off than you were 4 years ago?"
The answer is yes.  Yes, I am better off. 
I am better off because my president believes in marriage equality.  Four years ago, my president did not.  And, as far as I can tell, not one president before Barack Obama came out in favor of marriage equality while in office.
I have written about this issue before on the blog, so here's the short version.  
I have always believed in marriage equality.  And now, I quite strongly believe in it.  Love is love, and two adults who want to marry should be allowed to.  
It breaks my heart to read of two devoted men, or two women who have been together for 40 or more years and are denied equality in our modern society.  Why is their relationship "not real", but a man and a woman who have gone to Vegas, married, sobered up, and divorced in 2 days--their marriage is real?  That's just stupid, as well as wrong.
In the United States, marriage is a legal contract.  In most states, only 1 man and 1 woman are allowed to go to City Hall, fill out the papers, and obtain a marriage license.  The man and the woman who enter into the contract find recognition at the state level, and at the federal level, they receive over 1,100 benefits that are denied same sex couples who are denied the opportunity to enter into the same type of legal contract.  
Our nation may have been founded on the ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but a majority of people have used religiously based reasoning to deny these ideals to minorities. How utterly unfair, and again--how utterly stupid.  Our nation, thankfully, is a republic, not a theocracy--a distinction that is lost on too many people.  When you consider that our country is not ruled by the leaders of any one religion, AND that marriage is a legal contract--nothing more--then there is no valid argument to deny two adults the right to marry.   
No valid argument.
President Obama understands this.  Until this year, he was quite willing to go along with the illogical "religious"-based argument against marriage equality, but now he's changed his mind.  He's sent a clear message to the world that gays and lesbians should have the same rights as every other American.  
Thanks to him, and his stand on the side of love, my world is a better place than it was four years ago.  It's not perfect, but some days, you're grateful for the baby steps.  

"Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?": Response # 14

Since Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and the GOP have asked, I will answer their question.
Response # 14 to the question:  "Are YOU better off than you were 4 years ago?"
The answer is yes.  Yes, I am better off. 

I am better off because my parents are better off.  I still worry about the amount they pay for their prescriptions, but I know it's a little easier now than it was 4 fours ago, thanks to the Affordable Care Act.  

You see, according to the Medicare website, in 2008, basic Medicare Part D coverage worked like this:

• You pay out-of-pocket for monthly Part D premiums all year.
• You pay 100% of your drug costs until you reach the $310 deductible amount.
• After reaching the deductible, you pay 25% of the cost of your drugs, while the Part D plan pays the rest, until the total you and your plan spend on your drugs reaches $2,800.
• Once you reach this limit, you have hit the coverage gap referred to as the “donut hole,” and you are now responsible for the full cost of your drugs until the total you have spent for your drugs reaches the yearly out-of-pocket spending limit of $4,550.
• After this yearly spending limit, you are only responsible for a small amount of the cost, usually 5% of the cost of your drugs.

You know, when fact-checking for the blog today, I gotta say I found the information above hard to take in.  I can't imagine what it's like for the elderly to decipher what they owe and when they owe it.  How can you budget for prescriptions with donut holes and deductibles?!  

When the Affordable Care Act was passed, seniors got a rebate check for prescription expenses if they fell into the donut hole.  Not only that...

• Starting in 2011, they received a 50% discount on brand-name drugs in the donut hole, and started to pay less and less for generic Part D drugs in the donut hole.
• Starting in 2013, seniors will pay less and less for brand-name Part D prescription drugs in the donut hole.
• By 2020, the coverage gap will be closed, meaning there will be no more “donut hole,” and they will only pay 25% of the costs of drugs until they reach the yearly out-of-pocket spending limit.

In other words, life-saving drugs are now cheaper for my parents.  Thanks to President Obama and those in Congress who voted for the Affordable Care Act, I'm better off because my parents are better off.  

"Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?": Response # 13

Since Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and the GOP have asked, I will answer their question.
Response # 13 to the question:  "Are YOU better off than you were 4 years ago?"
The answer is yes.  Yes, I am better off. 
Ironically, today is the day I'm going to talk about how President Obama has charged us with caring for each other. 
I say ironically, because a video has surfaced of Mitt Romney, in which he accuses Obama voters as "moochers"--feeling entitled to suck the government dry...
Here's what Romney said: 
"There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax."  

And you know what?  Four years ago, this was the same thing our president --George W Bush--was saying.  In actions and deeds.  And I was astounded, when I went to a Town Hall meeting during the Healthcare debate.  That sentiment?  It had trickled down to a whole lot of people--people who called themselves "good" Christians, but who openly said, "I have health insurance.  I will take care of my own."  Not, "I think guaranteed health care for all people is the right, is the Christian, thing to do."  I was astounded because I was not raised that way.  My minister in my church NEVER said, "Screw the poor, we got health care, and they want a handout."  And I knew, I knew for certain, that to deprive others of something as basic as health care was utterly, morally wrong.  
Imagine how I felt, knowing my new president, Barack Obama, agreed with me.  And he still does.  These are his words from his speech at the DNC this month.
"You know what? That’s not who we are. That’s not what this country’s about. As Americans, we believe we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights, rights that no man or government can take away. We insist on personal responsibility, and we celebrate individual initiative. We’re not entitled to success. We have to earn it. We honor the strivers, the dreamers, the risk- takers, the entrepreneurs who have always been the driving force behind our free enterprise system, the greatest engine of growth and prosperity the world has ever known.
But we also believe in something called citizenship...a word at the very heart of our founding, at the very essence of our democracy; the idea that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another, and to future generations.
We believe that when a CEO pays his autoworkers enough to buy the cars that they build, the whole company does better....
We believe the little girl who’s offered an escape from poverty by a great teacher or a grant for college could become the next Steve Jobs, or the scientist who cures cancer, or the President of the United States, and it’s in our power to give her that chance
We know that churches and charities can often make more of a difference than a poverty program alone. We don’t want handouts for people who refuse to help themselves, and we certainly don’t want bailouts for banks that break the rules.
We don’t think the government can solve all our problems. But we don’t think that the government is the source of all our problems, any more than are welfare recipients, or corporations, or unions, or immigrants, or gays, or any other group we’re told to blame for our troubles.
Because -- because America, we understand that this democracy is ours."
 Now if all of us--every one of us--believed in helping one another, imagine what I could say 4 years from now.  
But for tonight, I have to say, "Yes.  I am better off than I was 4 years ago."   

"Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?": Response # 12

Since Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and the GOP have asked, I will answer their question.
Response # 12 to the question:  "Are YOU better off than you were 4 years ago?"
The answer is yes.  Yes, I am better off. 
You see, I have a pre-existing condition.
Four years ago, if I changed jobs, or if my employer changed insurance companies, that health insurance company had every right to deny me coverage.  Because of a health issue I have little control over.  
But now, thanks to the passage of the Affordable Care Act, that same health insurance company must provide coverage for me--it's illegal if they don't provide coverage for me.  
So am I better off?  Yes.  I can actually sleep better at night, because there's one less item in my "worry box".  
Thank you, President Obama and (mostly) Democrats in Congress.  Thank you for passing the Affordable Care Act.

"Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?": Response # 11

Since Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and the GOP have asked, I will answer their question.
Response # 11 to the question:  "Are YOU better off than you were 4 years ago?"
The answer is yes.  Yes, I am better off.  
Four years ago, I was pretty new to this gay thing.  I had been married to a man, and had taken all the rights and privileges of marriage for granted.  Then I got a divorce, met Karen, fell in love, and slowly began to realize what that meant to the larger world.  I knew there were those who did not approve of our relationship, but I don't think I truly understood how much the government did to prevent our relationship from being equal to any heterosexual relationship.  
Four years ago, it was possible--quite legal--to prevent one partner from visiting the other in the hospital.  That's right.  Visit.  Which also absolutely meant that, in a medical emergency, one partner would not be allowed to make any decisions, certainly not the life-or-death ones, for the other partner.  Can you imagine?  You have been a couple for 35 years.  One of you suffers a heart attack.  You are not considered next of kin, you are not allowed to know the condition of the other, and you are not allowed to see the other person, even if they are dying.  The hospital has every right to deny you access to the one person in your life you love above all the rest.  And it happened--over and over and over again.  People died alone, while their loved one sat waiting outside for a "real" next of kin. 
That's just cruel.  And so unnecessary. 
In April 2010, President Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum, for Hospital Visitation.  It reads, in part, "It should be made clear that designated visitors, including individuals designated by legally valid advance directives (such as durable powers of attorney and health care proxies), should enjoy visitation privileges that are no more restrictive than those that immediate family members enjoy. You should also provide that participating hospitals may not deny visitation privileges on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability."  
So, am I better off?  Hell yes.  Now I can legally visit Karen in the hospital.  
Baby steps......   

"Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?": Response # 10

Since Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and the GOP have asked, I will answer their question.
Response # 10 to the question:  "Are YOU better off than you were 4 years ago?"
The answer is yes.  Yes, I am better off. 
Because four years ago, our president thought the best way to handle disagreements with other countries was to poke, poke, then go in with guns ablazin'.  The notion that we could be arrogant because we had the biggest toys was prevalent.  
I can tell you that the George W. Bush Diplomatic "Policy" did not go over well in other countries, and there were many times I was embarrassed for my government.  I found myself apologizing for the leaders of our nation.  

   Do you remember this photo, taken in Germany in 2008?  This is the crowd, waiting to hear Barack Obama speak.  After 8 years of Bush-Cheney diplomacy, the whole world was ready, desperate for change.  And when Barack Obama was elected, he changed the way the United States presented itself to the world.  He changed the way we dealt with other countries.  This change involved listening, talking, and encouraging other nations to let their own people decide how to govern.  I think if he were to repeat the visit to Germany, he would draw a similar crowd. 
Sure, there are things he could have done differently, but when you encourage people toward democracy, everyone wins.
Yes, I'm much better off than I was four years ago, and I no longer feel like I have to apologize for my president.  What a great feeling.  

"Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?": Response # 9

Since Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and the GOP have asked, I will answer their question.
Response # 9 to the question:  "Are YOU better off than you were 4 years ago?"
The answer is yes.  Yes, I am better off.  
Because 4 years ago this week, I started to watch a new show on MSNBC at 9 p.m. 
"The Rachel Maddow Show" has educated me about politics, history, the wider world, and yes, cocktails.  Rachel Maddow is so smart, and yet has a way of weaving a number of threads together to "tighten" ones understanding of an issue.  She covers stories sometimes days before others do, and I think she's been responsible for a number of "reversals of opinion".  She has been to the Middle East, and has traveled in this country extensively, in an effort to go deeper into a story, and then educate her listeners on what she's discovered--I'm thinking about the times she's traveled to Alaska, New Orleans, and Kansas (covering the anti-choice murderer of Dr. George Tiller).  
She has bright, articulate guests on her show, and makes it a practice to speak one-on-one to them; there is no shouting to be heard over one another, no confrontation (except if the guest is trying to dodge her questions).  She's had delightful conversations with Nicole Wallace, Michael Steele, and a number of other Republicans.  But she's extremely intelligent, so the potential follow-up questions have probably scared off many from the Right--her show is a no bullshit zone. 
She has many guests who return again and again--Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman (I don't think I would have heard of him otherwise), Melissa Harris-Perry, Chris Hayes, Ezra Klein.  My favorite of her guests is Ana Marie Cox, and she hasn't been on for ages.  I miss her, I miss her intelligence and humor and her chemistry with Rachel.  Priceless. 
So, yes indeed I'm better off than I was 4 years ago.  Smarter too, thanks to Rachel Maddow. 

"Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?": Response # 8

Since Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and the GOP have asked, I will answer their question.
Response # 8 to the question:  "Are YOU better off than you were 4 years ago?"
The answer is yes.  Yes, I am better off.  
Do you remember Dick Cheney?  He was vice president for 
George W. Bush.  The more I found out about Dick Cheney, the harder I prayed for the strength of George W's heart.  The thought of Dick Cheney as PRESIDENT of the United States was chilling.  
I think you can tell a lot about a person by looking at their facial features as they age.  Happy people will have crinkles around their mouths, pointing upward.  Their foreheads will have wrinkles of delight.  Look at a photo of Dick Cheney.  His face is one big sneer.  As in, "Fuck all y'all."   
And the Darth Vader impression?  I don't think it's too far off the mark.  Dick Cheney shot a man in the face.  And the man apologized!!!  Now that's power.  
And all of this combined?  Does not touch the fact that this man cannot leave the United States.  Really.  He can't.  Nor can George W. Bush.  Why?  Because they will be arrested and charged as war criminals.  Yes.  I'll let that sink in.  The United States is harboring war criminals.  We even elected them president and vice president in 2004.  
They are considered criminals because of their actions during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.  They ordered the torture of individuals--you don't have to believe me on that; they've admitted it.  Waterboarding?  Illegal and barbaric in the rest of the world, legal under Bush/Cheney.  
So, am I better off than I was 4 years ago?  You betcha.  My vice president is Joe Biden.  He won't shoot your face off; he'll invite you to DC for beers!

"Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?": Response # 7

Since Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and the GOP have asked, I will answer their question.
Response # 7 to the question:  "Are YOU better off than you were 4 years ago?"
The answer is yes.  Yes, I am better off.  
On the anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001, I want to talk about the lives of women.  
Why focus on women on the anniversary of 9/11?  Because the terrorists who attacked our country (indeed our world) on that day did not care about women at all.  Women, to them, were nothing more than baby-makers.  Women, in the eyes of the Taliban, are the spoils of war; they are to be used to humiliate the enemy, to be taken as slaves, but never to be seen as human.  
When you see women as less-than-human, it's so very easy to deny them everything, including the right to live.  Deny them access to education, deny them access to health care, deny them access to clean water, deny them the right to vote, deny them the right to earn a living, deny them the right to drive a car, deny them a voice...the terrorists of 9/11 were from Saudi Arabia--a country rich monetarily, but abjectly poor in equality for women.  It's a poor country. 
Just after 9/11, the US attacked Afghanistan, a country ruled by the Taliban.  By all accounts, a ruthless regime.  I could support action that forced them out of power.  In place of the Taliban, our government is trying to help Afghanistan establish a democracy.  It's not easy, just as it's not easy in countries like Iraq, Egypt, Libya.  But there's progress, beginning with giving women the right to vote.  Giving them the things they've been denied.  Thus enriching more and more countries around the world.   
The United States?  It's rich in it's human resources, and thanks to the work of President Obama, getting richer.  
You see, President Obama has a wife, daughters--he gets it.  He really gets it.  

"Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?": Response # 6

Since Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and the GOP have asked, I will answer their question.
Response # 6 to the question:  "Are YOU better off than you were 4 years ago?"
The answer is yes.  Yes, I am better off.  
Why?  Because "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", which had been the official policy of the United States government since 1993, has been repealed.  
You might rightly point out that this policy does not directly affect me. But it does have an impact on friends of mine, and it does change the United States military--both of which have a bearing on my life, and on yours.  
First of all, it was the right thing to do.  Why should anyone who wants to represent our country, have to hide who they are?  When we are asking them to potentially make the ultimate sacrifice, why do we dare say, "We don't want to know who you are."?  
Our fairness shows the world who we strive to be.  Do we believe in equality?  Do we truly believe the words of our Constitution, our Declaration of Independence?  The repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was an important step in answering "Yes!" to those questions.  
We do have more to do.  If we truly support our troops, we need to support ALL their loved ones at home.  If we truly believe in equality for all our citizens, we have to change some laws.  
I believe Barack Obama will continue the work that's begun.

"Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?": Response # 5

Since Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and the GOP have asked, I will answer their question.
Response # 5 to the question:  "Are YOU better off than you were 4 years ago?"
The answer is yes.  Yes, I am better off.  
Why?  Because my president and my vice president understand what it's like to be like me.  They came from people like me.  
You may not think that makes a difference when electing a president, but it does to me.  I want to know that the president I elect to represent me....does.  In order to represent me, it helps if that person has had a "common" life--one in which there have been struggles, financial uncertainty, and enough tribulation that the person is changed; becomes more empathetic, more understanding of the "human condition".  
There is no financial uncertainty if you have inherited your money, if your safety net is as wide as the ocean.  It's harder to have empathy if you've not had to come together with family or friends to help one another.  If you've never been tested.  It's easier then to make decisions for the country; everything is a little more "black and white", with no grey.  
If you are like "every person" it's harder to believe the cliches about those on welfare, those who are gay, those who are different from you.  It allows you to know there is a box to think outside of.
Look at the life of Barack Obama.  Look at the life of Joe Biden.  They know.  They know about people  like me, because they are.  People like me.
  

"Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?": Response # 4

Since Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and the GOP have asked, I will answer their question.
Response # 4 to the question:  "Are YOU better off than you were 4 years ago?"
The answer is yes.  I am better off than I was 4 years ago.  Four years ago, I was convinced we were headed for another "Great Depression".  The banking system was collapsing, and I was terrified.  I remember saying to Karen--"I wish Barack Obama could be president RIGHT NOW, instead of George Bush!"  Because remember?  George Bush was president 4 years ago--when the financial system was in free fall.  George Bush.  
I had no confidence in GEORGE BUSH.  
I have confidence in Barack Obama.  
We aren't exactly where we could be, but I have confidence that Barack Obama will get us there in another 4 years.

"Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?": Response # 3

Since Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and the GOP have asked, I will answer their question.
Response # 3 to the question:  "Are YOU better off than you were 4 years ago?"
Yes, I am.  Four years ago, "Healthcare" was one of the biggest issues for voters.  I was very concerned; as a person who pays for multiple prescriptions every month, I knew if my employer stopped providing health insurance, I would be...well...dead.  
Health care is the single most expensive benefit that employers provide (after salary, that is).  Small companies suffer more than companies who have large numbers of employees, because they don't have the sheer numbers of employees that might allow them to negotiate lower premiums with insurance companies.  When lobbying Congress during the Affordable Care Act debate, the Obama administration included provisions for small businesses.  My employer received a rebate this year.  
Make no mistake--rising health care costs are passed on by companies to consumers; you might not see it directly, but might experience it as less hours of operation (your local library might have to close earlier every day), less "perks" (no free pens!), and most tragically, less donations to charities by companies.  
The Affordable Care Act has only been in place for a short time, but we have seen the benefit.  As humans, we tend to want instant gratification.  This issue requires patience.  I can be patient, if it means that someday, my health care issues are no worry at all.  

"Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?": Response # 2

Since Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and the GOP have asked, I will answer their question.
Response # 2 to the question:  "Are YOU better off than you were 4 years ago?"
The answer is "Yes.  Because 4 years ago, our troops were fighting in two wars, that had never been budgeted for, started by President Bush.  Now, although we are still asking our troops to fight for us in a foreign country, we are "only" in Afghanistan.  And the end to our extreme presence there is in sight."
Four years ago, we were not only in Afghanistan, our nation had been duped into sending forces into Iraq (remember all those WMDs that were laying all over everywhere in Baghdad?), AND neither had been budgeted for.  Not only that, but President Bush had given tax CUTS...because he could.
Worst of all, the Republican candidate, John McCain, showed every intention of invading Iran.  

"Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?" Response # 1

Since Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and the GOP have asked, I will answer their question.
"Are YOU better off than you were 4 years ago?"

Answer # 1:  Yes.  Because I am not afraid.  In the past 4 years, I cannot remember a day where I heard the words, "The Department of Homeland Security has elevated the Threat Level to ________."  I'm not saying there are no terrorist threats (although according to the DHS, there are none at the moment), but am I saying the Obama administration is handling this information differently.  They are not using fear for political gain, and I thank them.

Neil Armstrong

Neil Armstrong died this week.  The rarest club in the world--people who have stepped on the moon--lost its' founding member.  Neil Armstrong was the first man on the moon:  July 20, 1969.
The local community treats him like a hometown boy; he attended, and graduated from Purdue.  He has a building named after him on campus; inside is a moon rock, and a replica of his spacecraft.  Outside are "moon prints" and a statue of Armstrong as a student (this is where students left memorials for him during the week--eye witnesses say these tributes were from numerous faith traditions).  I think it's lovely that people took the time to leave these tributes, but I can't help but think that Armstrong would have been taken aback by the visible display of the impact he still has on students today.  Students whose parents may not have been born when he walked on the moon!  I know people who have met Neil Armstrong, and they all say he was a quiet man who valued his privacy.  He was very aware of what he accomplished, and he took steps while alive to ensure his legacy would not be exploited.  We did not see his photo on cereal boxes, we did not play with Neil Armstrong action figures.  We did read about him in history books, and to my knowledge, the story has not been embellished.  It didn't need to be.
Those of us who were alive in July 1969, no matter where on Earth we lived--we remember.  Mostly.
I have trouble remembering the night when such history was made.  I was 9 years old, and the images from that evening's television-watching should be seared into my brain.  But I was nowhere near a television; my mom, my sister, my niece, and some friends were vacationing in a cabin in a remote area of Missouri.  We were near a lake, but were so far from everything else that even radio reception was hit-or-miss.  My sister tells me that the older women were convinced the world would end the minute his foot hit the moon, so my guess is the air in the cabin was thick with tension--much like it was in many homes across the world.  I do remember my mom and her friend nervously fiddling with the dials on the radio, trying to find a clear station for "the moment".  I guessed we breathed a sigh of relief when the moment passed, and Neil Armstrong survived, along with our planet.  The next day, I went swimming, maybe boating, and we all turned our attention to my niece, who was running a pretty high fever for a 2-year-old.  She got better, our vacation ended, I turned 10, and then school started.
I know we talked about the amazing thing Neil Armstrong did; my dad gave me copies of the photos taken on the moon, and for a long time, I saved a commemorative magazine.  I was particularly intrigued by the disk that was left on the moon--according to the Internets, "They also left behind a silicon message disk. The disk carries the goodwill statements by Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon and messages from leaders of 73 countries around the world. The disc also carries a listing of the leadership of the US Congress, a listing of members of the four committees of the House and Senate responsible for the NASA legislation, and the names of NASA's past and present top management."  But I don't think I truly appreciated the complexity of the moon mission until much later; I don't think my young mind could grasp even the math that it took to get them there.  
Time passed, we started to drink Tang, and watched with awe as other Apollo flights went to the moon and back.  Astronauts became more comfortable being on the Moon--one even took a golf club with him, and launched a ball into orbit.  And I wondered, without ever saying it, if the "moon people" were just very clever at hiding.