Are we better off now than we were two years ago?

Yes.
Could we have been even better off with a little courage from the President and the Congress?  Yes.

Most everyone is frustrated with the state of the economy today.

But compared to two years ago? It's not even a contest.

Yes. But no. People don't "feel" an impending depression. They do "feel" what it's like to have their salaries plummet and lose their jobs. The first was remedied, but we never felt it. The second still plagues us, and we feel it. So it's hard to explain to people without jobs that things are better, even if it is true.