Three years ago, our country was thriving. We were running on a $236 billion budget surplus and 22 million jobs were created between 1992 and 2000. However, today 9 million Americans are out of work and 44 million Americans are without health insurance. Gas prices are at a 23-year high, and household income has decreased by almost $1,500. We have the largest budget deficit ever for the second year in a row in our Nation's history. Our government spends $900,000 more a minute than it takes in, and it borrows $1.1 billion a day. Corporate profits are up, but wages for working families are down. It is the most anemic growth since World War II. 

So are we better off today than we were 4 years ago? I think it is easy to see the answer is clearly ``no.''