The U.S. economy is "unequivocally" better off today than it was four years ago, Costcoco-founder and former CEO Jim Sinegal told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Wednesday.
“The things that President Obama has started are beginning to take hold,” said the Costco co-founder ahead of his speechbefore the Democratic convention Wednesday evening.
Some frustrated voters and political pundits have deployed the "better off" catchphrase, first uttered by Ronald Reagan as he squared off in a debate against then President Jimmy Carter in the 1980 general election.
For his part, Sinegal responded in the affirmative.
“Are we better off today? The answer is unequivocally yes,” Sinegal said. “I think [Obama] is very supportive of business, and we certainly found that to be true relative to our business.”
Sinegal noted that private sector job creation has been improving for about 29 months in a row, even as the unemployment rate remains mired above 8 percent. “That is progress when you consider that in 2008 we lost 4 million jobs,” he said. “It’s a slow process but I do believe it’s coming around.”
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