The Only Real Question That Counts Over The Next 18 Months Is...

...this: Are you better off now than you were four years ago?  Here are some stats to help paint the picture:

        March '07 March '11

Unemployment Rate 4.40% 8.80%

Gas price (per gallon) $2.56 $3.60

National Debt 8.84 trillion 14.27 trillion

Monthly deficit 95 billion 189 billion

Median House Price* $262,600 $202,100

S&P 500 Index 1420.86 1332.31

Employment-Population Ratio 63.3% 58.5%

Consumer Price Index* 205.532 221.309

(Items with an * are using February 2011 data)

Seems like a pretty easy question to me.