Obama tries reagan touch on US economy

US President Barack Obama, stumping for the Democrats ahead of November's congressional elections, has twice invoked Ronald Reagan's seminal campaign question: ‘are you better off than you were four years ago?’  Framing the debate like that helped Reagan twice - in 1980 when he beat incumbent Jimmy Carter, and then again in 1984 when he won re-election during an economic upswing.  But a similar message has failed to resonate for Obama primarily for one reason: while he stresses the economy has improved in almost every aspect on his watch, average family incomes have slipped. Between 2009 when Obama took office and 2013, the latest for which numbers are available, median annual household incomes fell by more than $2,100 (R23,373) in inflation-adjusted terms, Census Bureau data showed last week. White House economists have pointed out that the census figures do not reflect job growth and the rise in average hourly earnings seen this year, but any improvements have yet to register with the public. About four in 10 Americans also strongly disapprove of Obama's handling of the economy and less than one in 10 feel he is doing a really good job. The president's own overall approval rating is stuck at around 40 per cent, according to iol.co.za