In a turning point of the 1980 Presidential campaign, the Republican challenger asked:

“How many of you are better off now than you were four years ago?”

Examining some unemployment rates:

Nov, 1976:  7.8% – Carter elected.

Nov, 1980: 7.5% – Reagan elected.

Nov, 1982: 10.8% – Mid term elections

Mar, 1989: 5.0% – Best value under Reagan/Bush

Nov, 1992: 7.4% – Clinton Elected

Apr, 2000: 3.8% – Best value under Clinton

Dec, 2000: 3.9% – Bush appointed

Nov, 2008: 6.8% Obama elected

Summarizing:

o More were better off in 1980 than 1976.

o Things got much worse under supply side economics, before they got better

o The lowest unemployment rates were after the Clinton administration edged up the tax rates on the highest incomes.

It might be mentioned that:

o These are national – they might have been better or worse in some areas than in others.

o The rate always understates the true unemployed.