Not better off

Ntodd has a poll up on whether you are better off now than four years ago. They are also hashing this around over at Brad DeLong's and the Washington Monthly. I think NTodd has it right. No matter what the media or government says it is really how people assess their own situations that affects their mood. It probably will not be a good idea for Bush to ask the question during the campaign. The fact that coporate profits are taking and increasingly greater share of the pie is sinking in by force of it's own weight. Additionally, the fact that even though there may be a slightly improving job market people are seeing first hand that these are not good jobs that offer a living wage. The average Joe is not an economist but knows from first hand experience that the more people there are applying for a given job the lower the wage will probably be. He understands supply and demand in the gut.