Am I better off than I was 7 years ago?

How can I be clearer about this?? NO. Not even close.

I had a house in 2001. I was lucky, I suppose and sold it right before the South Florida real estate market collapsed in 2006. Things didn't really go downhill until Hurricane Wilma in 2005. West Palm Beach was hit by 3 direct hurricanes. Local government raised real estate taxes overnight to deal with the damages. Every homeowner that I knew that wasn't protected by a homestead exemption suddenly had the equivalent of a new car payment each month. After 3 hits, rising taxes, and scare repair companies, people gave up. The housing market was flooded with people ready to move out of Hurricane land. It wasn't helped by all of the over-development in the area. Have you ever had the pleasure of trying to sell a house in a crowded market while there's a blue tarp covering a missing piece of your roof?

I have the same car that I had in 2001. Of course, in the suburbs of Florida, with a house and 2 dogs, I needed an SUV. I worked from home. Drove less than 10K miles/year. Now, I'm in DC and commute 35 miles each day. I can't get rid of that truck for a reasonable price anymore. So I'm stuck with something that's bad for me and bad for the environment.

I had very little consumer debt in 2001.  But, with the aforementioned hurricanes and moving for work, I had to tap into savings. I have 38% of my income going to taxes, a higher cost of living, and wages that don't keep up with inflation.  Debt has been impossible to avoid. I remember when six figures was a lot of money...

I could say it was just me and that things aren't so bad now. But it's not. Most of my friends are lucky enough to still have good office jobs in tech, finance, or real estate, but they are broke all the time. It took one friend 9 months to find a job. We live responsibly, don't splurge on dumb things, and work our a*ses off. I am not writing this to complain...far from it. I know so many people are in worse situations. But I saw the topic of the story and wanted to write about how everyone I know is financially pressed.

How does this all relate to the election of 2008? I am a big believer in personal responsibility, so I won't blame anyone else.  But add up the influences in my story:

1. Global Warming

2. High taxes

3. The real estate market (hurt by mortgages people couldn't afford)

4. Inflation

5. Gas prices & energy

6. Jobs and economic growth

7. Interest rates

I'm not interested in 4 more years of this crap.