We were promised Hope and Change. The change is in the chart below.

Gotta laugh to keep from crying at how true this is:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gw8up1te0Y&feature=player_embedded

Here's your change! January 2009 January 2011 % chg Source Avg.. Retail price/gallon gas in U.S. $1.83 $3.44 84% 1 Crude oil, European Brent (barrel) $43..48 $99..02 127.7% 2 Crude oil, West TX Inter. (barrel) $38..74 $91..38 135.9% 2 Gold: London (per troy oz.) $853.25 $1,369.50 60.5% 2 Corn, No. 2 yellow, Central IL $3.56 $6.33 78.1% 2 Soybeans, No. 1 yellow, IL $9.66 $13..75 42.3% 2 Sugar, cane, raw, world, lb. Fob $13..37 $35..39 164.7% 2 Unemployment rate, non-farm, overall 7.6% 9.4% 23.7% 3 Unemployment rate, blacks 12.6% 15.8% 25.4% 3 Number of unemployed 11,616,000 14,485,000 24.7% 3 Number of fed. Employees 2,779,000 2,840,000 2.2% 3 Real median household income $50,112 $49,777 -0.7% 4 Number of food stamp recipients 31,983,716 43,200,878 35.1% 5 Number of unemployment benefit recipients 7,526,598 9,193,838 22.2% 6 Number of long-term unemployed 2,600,000 6,400,000 146.2% 3 Poverty rate, individuals 13.2% 14.3% 8.3% 4 People in poverty in U.S. 39,800,000 43,600,000 9.5% 4 U.S.. Rank in Economic Freedom World Rankings 5 9 n/a 10 Present Situation Index 29.9 23.5 -21.4% 11 Failed banks 140 164 17.1% 12 U.S.. Dollar versus Japanese yen exchange rate 89.76 82.03 -8.6% 2 U.S.. Money supply, M1, in billions 1,575.1 1,865.7 18.4% 13 U.S.. Money supply, M2, in billions 8,310.9 8,852.3 6.5% 13 National debt, in trillions $10..627 $14..052 32.2% 14 Just take this last item: In the last two years we have accumulated national debt at a rate more than 27 times as fast as during the rest of our entire nation's history. Over 27 times as fast. Metaphorically speaking, if you are driving in the right lane doing 65 MPH and a car rockets past you in the left lane 27 times faster, it would be doing 1,755 MPH! Sources: (1) U.S. Energy Information Administration; (2) Wall Street Journal; (3) Bureau of Labor Statistics; (4) Census Bureau; (5) USDA; (6) U.S. Dept. Of Labor; (7) FHFA; (8) Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller; (9) RealtyTrac; (10) Heritage Foundation and WSJ; (11) The Conference Board; (12) FDIC; (13) Federal Reserve; (14) U.S. Treasury