Romney Campaign Press Release - Obama Campaign To Struggling Americans: You're Better Off

"The middle class has been crushed under President Obama, but he doesn't seem to get it. Gas prices have doubled, incomes have dropped, poverty is headed toward fifty-year highs, and chronic unemployment is at unprecedented levels. But the Obama campaign now has a clear message for Americans – you're doing well, you just don't know it. Americans deserve a president who understands we're not better off and has a plan to fix it." – Amanda Henneberg, Romney Campaign Spokesperson

This Morning, Obama Deputy Campaign Manager Stephanie Cutter Claimed Americans Are Better Off After Four Years:

Obama Deputy Campaign Manager Stephanie Cutter, On If Americans Are Better Off: "Absolutely." NATALIE MORALES: "And let me begin by starting with that central question on a lot of people's minds, and that is are we better off today than we were four years ago when President Obama was elected?" CUTTER: "Absolutely." (NBC's "Today," 9/3/12)

It's Just The Latest Out-Of-Touch Comments From The Obama Team – They Think The "Private Sector Is Doing Fine" And The Middle Class "Is Coming Back":

Vice President Joe Biden: "The Middle Class Is Coming Back." BIDEN: "Folks, the middle class is coming back, they have been ravaged. They have been ravaged. But they are starting to come back." (Vice President Joe Biden, Remarks At A Campaign Event, Minneapolis, MN, 8/21/12)

President Obama: "The Private Sector Is Doing Fine." (President Barack Obama, Press Conference, Washington, DC, 6/8/12)

The Truth? Families Are Struggling With Fewer Jobs, Lower Incomes, And A Middle Class That Is Shrinking In Size:

More Than Twenty-Three Million Americans Are Unemployed, Underemployed, Or Have Stopped Looking For Work. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, 8/26/12)

• Since President Obama Took Office, The Nation Has Lost 316,000 Jobs And The Unemployment Rate Has Remained Above 8% For 42 Straight Months. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, 8/26/12)

"Almost Every Group Is Worse Off Than It Was Three Years Ago, And Some Groups Had Very Large Declines In Income." "'Almost every group is worse off than it was three years ago, and some groups had very large declines in income,' Green, who previously directed work on the Census Bureau's income and poverty statistics program, said in a phone interview today. 'We're in an unprecedented period of economic stagnation.'" (Jeff Kearn, "U.S. Incomes Fell More In Recovery, Sentier Says," Bloomberg, 8/23/12)

Lower-Paying Jobs Account For Nearly 60% Of The Jobs Added Since The Recession Ended In 2009. "Lower-paying jobs, with median hourly wages from $7.69 to $13.83, accounted for just 21% of the job losses during the recession. But they've made up about 58% of the job growth from the end of the recession in late 2009 through early 2012." (Jim Puzzanghera, "Majority Of New Jobs In Recovery Are Low-Paying, Study Finds," Los Angeles Times, 8/31/12)

Since President Obama Took Office, Median Household Income Has Declined By Over $4,000. "In January 2009, the month President Obama entered the Oval Office and shortly before he signed his stimulus spending bill, median household income was $54,983. By June 2012, it had tumbled to $50,964, adjusted for inflation. (See the chart nearby.) That's $4,019 in lost real income, a little less than a month's income every year." (Editorial, "Negative $4,019," The Wall Street Journal, 8/24/12)

"The Middle Class Has Shrunk In Size, Fallen Backward In Income And Wealth..." "Since 2000, the middle class has shrunk in size, fallen backward in income and wealth, and shed some—but by no means all—of its characteristic faith in the future." ("The Lost Decade Of The Middle Class," Pew Research, 8/22/12)

"The Ranks Of America's Poor Are On Track To Climb To Levels Unseen In Nearly Half A Century..." "The ranks of America's poor are on track to climb to levels unseen in nearly half a century, erasing gains from the war on poverty in the 1960s amid a weak economy and fraying government safety net." (Hope Yen, "US Poverty On Track To Rise To Highest Since 1960s," The Associated Press, 7/22/12)