Are You Better Off Than Four Years Ago?

Exactly four years ago this month, the bottom dropped out of the U.S. economy. 

Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy on Sept. 15, 2008. The next day, the Federal Reserve announced a bailout of AIG. Bad news continued to pile up almost daily, with the stock market collapsing and millions of jobs vanishing.

No single factor will define such a complex process as selection of a president, but none might be greater than the simple question: Are you better off than four years ago?

With just 36 days to go before the Nov. 6 general election, President Obama and Mitt Romney continue to make their case with voters here in New Hampshire and across the country that they have the best plan to move the nation forward.

The first Presidential debate is scheduled for Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. in Denver and how voters feel about the questions of whether they are better off today than they were four years ago could be the most important thing they think about when it comes time to enter the voting booth.

Are you better off than you were four years ago? Or is your financial life the same or worse? Can you credit a presidential administration with business' success or failure or is the state of business left to business leaders? Let us know in the comments section.