1/3 Worse off; 1/3 the Same; 1/3 Better off

The Federal Reserve has released a survey of American Consumers dated July 2014 and asked how they were doing.

You might guess that 10 out of one hundred are doing poorly.

No!  34 out of one hundred said they are "worse off" after a five year period of time - by comparing 2013 to 2008, the year the Great Recession started.

The persistent disappointment of weak job creation and low economic growth has been wearing on people longer than it takes to finish high school.

It is simply awful that tens of millions of Americans are stuck and can't graduate to improved and secure economic status.

Obviously America suffers from poor leadership.  PB
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Excerpts from the  Federal Reserve's "Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2013"

Overall, the 2013 survey found that many households were
faring well, but that sizable fractions of the popula-
tion were at the same time displaying signs of finan-
cial stress:

The effects of the recession continued to be felt by
many: 34 percent reported that they were some-
what worse off or much worse off financially than
they had been five years earlier, 34 percent reported
that they were about the same, and 30 percent
reported that they were somewhat or much bet-
ter off.

43 percent of respondents reported that they could
not afford to pay for a major medical expense out
of pocket, and 34 percent reported that it is only
somewhat likely that they could afford to pay.

42 percent reported that they had delayed a major
purchase or expense directly due to the recession,
and 18 percent put off what they considered to be a
major life decision as a result of the recession.
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Link: http://www.federalreserve.gov/econresdata/2013-report-economic-well-being-us-households-201407.pdf