On the surface,

the unemployment stats from the gov't didn't look too bad as the jobless numbers got slightly better, BUT, when you read further and see why, it's kinda scary. The only reason it looked better was the large number of people who just gave up, or were dropped from the rolls after their unemp insurance ran out. Also, factor in the huge numbers of workers who had a good paying job with benefits and now work part time or at minimum wage. The REAL unemployment rate, after Bush killed our economy is near 20%. Absolutely unsustainable. Throw in the fact that  most people's MAIN investment, their house, is still headed down with no end in sight, AND, the gov't which depends on taxes to fund itself, finds the tax base headed down as demand goes up. And the cherry on top? Oil companies are raising prices to suck up whatever discretionary income there is out there. When you look at the country in 2000, and the one handed off in 2008, how can anyone dispute the obvious?