A traditional question: Are you better off now than 4 years ago?

It’s the traditional question — ever since the 1980 presidential campaign, at least, courtesy of Ronald Reagan — posed by at least one side in the campaign: Are you better off than you were four years ago?

Even though there’s a severe limit to how much any single public official can make individual lives better or worse — and in the best of times, some people fare badly, and vice versa — at any point in time, the question isn’t bad.

What’s tricky about it is that our memories often mess with us. Go back a few years, and things tend to look better than they did at the time.

I can help with that.

Every week, for a lot of years now, I publish something called the Idaho Weekly Briefing, and it includes a rundown of what happened over the previous week, using news items, statistics, news releases and what have you. The idea is to give a picture of what’s going on at the moment, a snapshot of sorts.

So here are some excerpts from the look at Idaho the week of Oct. 19, 2020, along with a little additional information.

I wrote then, “Candidate debates, including several for congressional offices, worked their way into news reports last week alongside the ever-present stories about COVID-19, which features reports of a strong pandemic resurgence in the state. Good news: wildfires eased back, and were much less noticed last week.”

COVID-19 was highly active — no vaccine for it had yet been released — and “As of October 17, Idaho health officials reported 52,582 cases of COVID-19. They were spread across all of Idaho’s 44 counties. This week’s increase was about 5,000 cases, more than last week and by far the largest in Idaho for any single week.”

COVID-19 killed thousands of Idahoans, and many businesses were either damaged or shuttered completely, owing in part to then-erratic messaging from Washington, D.C.

Gov. Brad Little opined, “This is about personal responsibility — something Idaho is all about. Wear a mask. Watch your distance from others. Wash your hands. Do these things so our kids can stay in school, our loved ones stay safe, and our economy can continue to prosper ... Hospitals throughout the region are experiencing the highest number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19 ever seen throughout the pandemic. This is placing a significant strain on hospital resources.”

Crime rates in Idaho were very similar in 2020 and in the most recent year for which full numbers are available, 2023, though numbers have been dropping according to a number of reports since.

The Department of Justice announced it has charged 60 defendants with firearms-related crimes during Fiscal Year (FY) 2020, despite the challenges of COVID-19 and its impact on the criminal justice process. U.S. Attorney Bart Davis said, “We have a great impact on curtailing violent crime by focusing our efforts on the enforcement of federal firearm laws. Through our partnerships, we are ensuring that those that contribute to gun violence face appropriate charges and sentences that will protect our community.”

In 2020, wildfire season “was slow to start this year in Idaho, and now is slow to depart.” The National Interagency Fire Center reported 10 active wildfires in Idaho (about the same as this year).

In 2020, growth in the state’s seasonally adjusted labor force increased September’s unemployment rate to 6.1%, up from 4.2% in August. (The most recent 2024 report, for August, is 3.5%.) And: “Total benefit payments to laid-off Idahoans attributed to COVID-19 have reached $889.5 million.”

Inflation rates nationally then and now were close to the 2% level federal regulators consider optimal. (High inflation is harmful but so would be no inflation at all, for the economy generally and anyone with debt, such as a mortgage or on credit cards.)

The stock price for Micron Technology was 51.61 (now 106.92), for Hewlett Packard 18.50 (now 37.01), Idaho Power 87.11 (now 101.09) and Clearwater Paper 40.01 (now 27.76).

Boise OK’d a water management plan and Nampa’s library started window dropoff service. An Idaho State University team was researching blue whales.

Am I better off now than four years ago? Sure am. Not everyone is, of course. Life goes on, and aside from COVID-19 and all the aspects surrounding it — a big aside — things seem to be rolling along much as they had been.

Stapilus is a former Idaho newspaper reporter and editor who blogs at ridenbaugh.com. He may be contacted at stapilus@ridenbaugh.com.