Are You Better Off Than 4 Years Ago? - kcentv.com - KCEN HD - Waco, Temple, and Killeen

President Obama spoke about his plans for the next four years. But its promises some say they're heard before.

Some new numbers are out comparing some major issues four years later and many of the things on the list are negatives .

Things like the number of people on food stamps and the amount of people living in poverty have gone up. But there are some good things, like the Dow Jones has climbed more than 5,500 points in the last four years.

Since 2009, the median household income has dropped by more than $2,100. A drop Suzanne Woodill says has happened to some she knows. "A lot of places are only hiring part time because they can hire a part time person on minimum wage, versus a full time people on decent salaries where they can support their families,"Woodill, who be lives the next 4 years will be worse.

One stable factor was unemployment which stayed at 7.8%. But 46.2 million Americans are now living in poverty. Nita Andrews says she's seen some friends struggle to make ends meet. "It's scary cause we're getting behind on mortgages, car payments, and as the groceries are going up, gas is going up, we're having to spend more on that and then its taking away from our bills," says Andrews.

But there are some positives. Consumer confidence is up to 65.1% and 41% of adults believe the country is headed in the right direction. Patrick Chung falls under that category. "No matter what happens, I always have hope and peace. Even if I'm broke or the government might be not acting in a way I feel is correct," says Chung. 

In the last four years, the number of Americans living on food stamps is up by 13.1 million people. And the country's debt has gone up by 5.8 trillion dollars to 16.4 trillion.