Election 2012: Cutting Through Obfuscation

We are closing in fast on the presidential election of 2012.  All of us have a serious decision to make and our vote matters.  Luckily for me, I'm not harnessed to the dogmas of either political party.  I'm a conservative Independent and I refuse to be type cast as a Republican or a conservative minded Democrat.  In my opinion, both parties are much more interested in party interests than they are about getting things done.  The problems facing our nation are expansive enough to need ideas from both sides of the aisle.  Our government seems to have lost the ability to find middle ground.  The media, be it FOX or MSNBC, relishes the endless diatribe rushing forth from Washington DC.  Compromise is boring and makes for a poor news cycle.  Unfortunately, far too many of us tune in and hope to listen for what we want to hear.  We adore the reinforcing pundits who assure us that our way of thinking is "right".  The funny thing is, while we adore being told our views are best for the nation, we also mock our government for not getting anything done.  This drama unfolds everyday in our nation's capital.

Over the past four years, President Obama has made little effort to reach across the aisle for ideas.  Rather than getting things done, the Republicans have spent more energy trying to be sure that the president fails in his bid for reelection.  Meanwhile, those of us in the middle class have been ping ponged back and forth while both parties try to convince us that they have all the answers.  Of course, neither side has the answer for all of our country's travails.  So, what do we know for certain?  In 2008, the president roared into office waving his "Hope & Change" banner.  What has transpired since that time?  Let's blindfold ourselves for a moment and remove the labels Republican, Democrat, Liberal, or Conservative.  Have things gotten better since his election?  Does your dollar go further in 2012 than it did in 2008?  Have your cost of living expenses merely grown at the level of inflation or have they increased at a higher rate?  I've ended my post with a price table for common living expenses (www.thepeoplehistory.com/pricebasket.html).  It is a cost index comparison from 2008 to the third quarter of 2012.  This table clearly shows that the vast majority of us are seeing our dollar buy far less in 2012 than it did in 2008.  President Obama can talk all he wants to about being the valiant warrior fighting for the middle class however; I view this table as his four year report card.  If we were to grade him on a scale from A to F, in my book he'd deserve an F.  If they want, those on the left can hide behind their assertions that Romney is a liar but, they cannot avoid solid data showing the sinking four year trend-line for a single dollar.  

 My vote this year will be simple, I'm voting for the buying power of a single dollar and nothing else.  In my view, all other social issues for our nation are minuscule in comparison.  This means that I will not be casting a vote for the reelection of President Obama.  The"Hope & Change" banner has meant nothing positive for most of us.

Year	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Realty
House Rent	$800.00	$780.00	Aug. $945.00	Aug. $955.00	Aug. $1045.00
New House Buy	$238,880	$232,880	Nov. $268,700	Mar. $202,100	Aug. $263,200
Commodities
Gallon Gas	Sep. $3.39	Feb. $2.51	Aug. $2.73	Aug. $3.89	Sep. $3.91
KW Hour Elec	Nov. 11.03 ¢	Oct. 11.76 ¢	Sep. 11.97 ¢	Aug. 12.35 ¢	Aug. 13.30 ¢
Shopping Basket ** Foods Notes and Comments on Brands and Weights at end of table
Loaf Bread	Jan. $1.68	Aug. $1.77	Feb. $2.49	Aug. $1.98	Sep. $1.88
Lb Potatoes	Nov. 32 ¢	Aug. 55 ¢	Feb. 52 ¢	Aug. 60 ¢	Sep. 42 ¢
Gal Milk	$2.65	$2.69	$2.79	Aug. $3.39	Sep. $2.79
Lb Bacon	Dec. $2.96	Aug. $3.19	Jan. $3.22	Aug. $3.98	Sep. $4.48
Doz Eggs	Apr. $1.29	Aug. $1.34	Jan. $1.37	Aug. $1.25	Sep. $1.54
24 Pack Coke	$5.48	$5.98	$6.98	Aug. $6.98	Sep. $6.98
12 Pack Water	$1.90	$1.94	Feb. $2.08	Aug. $2.63	Sep. $2.68
Lb Tomatoes	68 ¢	75 ¢	Feb. 97 ¢	Aug. $1.59	Sep. $1.79
Lb TasteLikeButter	$1.90	$1.94	Dec. $2.28	Aug. $2.68	Sep. $2.68
Lg Cornflakes	$2.34	$2.68	Dec. $2.98	Aug. $3.50	Sep. $1.98
Frozen Pizza	$2.49	$2.49	Dec. $2.90	Aug. $3.00	Sep. $3.33
5 Lb Bag Sugar	$2.68	$2.78	Dec. $3.12	Aug. $2.92	Sep. $2.42
5 Lb Bag Flour	$1.97	$2.06	Dec. $2.18	Aug. $3.12	Sep. $2.98
Lb Ground Beef	$3.68	$3.99	Dec. $3.78	Aug. $3.78	Sep. $4.78
Tide Soap Powder	$5.98	$6.98	Dec. $7.97	Aug. $10.55	Sep. $17.97
Folgers Coffee	$5.49	$7.98	Dec. $8.78	Aug. $12.98	Sep. $8.98
Lb Green Grapes	$1.85	$2.15	Dec. $2.97	Aug. $1.96	Sep. $1.98
Toilet Paper	$3.49	$3.49	Dec. $3.98	Aug. $3.98	Sep. $3.96
Chicken Soup	$1.89	$1.95	Dec. $2.08	Aug. $2.10	Sep. $1.75
Employment
Wages	$40,523	$39,423	Nov. $39,856	Aug. $40,925	NA
Unemployment	Jan. 5.4%	May. 8.6%	Nov. 9.8%	Aug. 9.2%	Aug. 8.1%