And my wife and I fall precisely into that category. We live in way more house than the two of us need — we have more vehicles than we need, and we do more “leisure” activities and travel than we need to.

But it sure makes life worth the living. However, if economic bad times were to befall us, we have places we could easily cut or do without to get by.

We’ve been very fortunate in this country. I think we still are, but we need a change of lifestylel diet, one that’s more realistic.

Robbie- I’m not sure what your point is- that people making less money don’t feel more economically insecure? People are lying about their fears of their HMO not covering their sickness?

In any case, it is well documented that that the median income has barely budged in 30 years while at the same time job insecurity has risen. At the same time health care costs and insecurity have risen. At the same time the tax burden has shifted to the working and middle class.

It’s great that the unemployment rate is low now- but the benefits of a growing economy haven’t trickled down to working Americans for a generation. That’s why they vote Democratic.

Dianne- this is completely unsupported by the CNN exit poll data- unless you are saying that people earning up to 100,000 dollars are ‘uneducated’ and ‘won’t work’. And categorizing that lowest income catagory as lazy seems to overlook that a full time (35 hours) job at Wal-Mart would still earning less than 15,000 dollars.

The current unemployment rate is 4.6% — here’s an article from CNNmoney from late last year, where they discuss how the unemployment rate fell to a five year low.

And that there was a net GAIN in new job growth of 92K jobs — and that they paid about $16/hour (very livable wage).

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The unemployment rate fell to the lowest level in more than five years in October, the government reported Friday, a sign of unexpected strength in the job market.

The jobless rate sank to 4.4 percent from 4.6 percent in September, the Labor Department said. It was the lowest since May 2001. Economists had forecast the rate would hold steady.

The department also said that employers added 92,000 jobs in October, down from a revised 148,000 in September, and short of Wall Street forecasts for a gain of 125,000.

[snip]

The tighter job market is apparently helping to lift wages, according to the Labor Department report, which showed that average wages rose 6 cents to $16.91 an hour last month, a shade above what economists had forecast.

But, I forgot. The economy sucks.

As for healthcare, you know I agree with you on this one but then you should love Mitt Romney. He actually did something about healthcare in Mass. If you had lived and worked there, you would have no reason to fear changing jobs. He did it with market based private options, not a one payer socialistic system.

The point isn’t whether or not the Republicans had a bad year. In 2004 the difference was even greater between those making less than 50K and those making more: a 26 point swing in preference!

VOTE BY INCOME
TOTAL Democrat Republican
Less Than $50,000 (45%) 56% 42%
$50,000 or More (55%) 43% 55%

VOTE BY INCOME
TOTAL Democrat Republican
Less Than $100,000 (82%) 51% 48%
$100,000 or More (18%) 42% 57%

Nazar, I think you have just absorbed the working class image that Republicans have worked hard to cultivate in the last 30 years – I was surprised by these numbers too the first time I saw them.

Imagine how you’ll feel when you realize that their bluster about national security is all smoke and mirrors as well.

The loss of millions of working class jobs that pay a livable wage and the 42 million Americans without healthcare and the gutting of student financial aid aren’t abstractions to many people making less money. These are issues that Democrats talk about and Republicans don’t.

Having recently changed jobs I had to face the prospect of a 3 month gap in my health insurance (luckily I don’t have pre-existing health conditions that chain me to my last insurance plan, and by extension, my last job). Yet that kind of uncertainty is nothing compared to, say, feeling a lump you can’t explain- or pay to have examined.