商业报道:美国经济是衰退还是增长？

Are we better off today? 经济衰退

CNN's Christine Romans examines whether the U.S. economy is in better shape now than it was when President Bush took office.

President Bush took off as just before a recession began and it's quite possible he'll end his term amid or after another recession. In between was the weakest economic expansion since World War Two, and that had both parties asking,"Are YOU better off today?"

"Ask yourself a simple question, that is , 'Are you better off now?' than you were when George Bush took office?"

You'll hear a lot over the next nine weeks about family budgets and the struggling middle- class and whether the economy is better-off today.

"In a word, NO! A comparing reccession, uh today, with 8 years ago, when you were in a boom. And that's a tough comparison , no matter how you slice it."

Tough comparison indeed. Remember gas at $1.49? It has more than doubled during the George W.Bush's administration. Most recently, $3.68 a gallon. Medical costs are gobbling up an ever-bigger chunk¹ of your heart and dollar.Think of it this way, more than 17 cents of every consumer dollar is spent on health care. Tuition and food prices are exploding as paychecks, after inflation, shrink. Economist² Marks Andy says the richer , a little richer. The poorer, a litter poorer. And everyone else?.

"I think for the average American, they are treading water financially. Their incomes are about what they were years ago. And their net work is about what it was years ago as well. "

Historically, income rises. The Democrat's playing White House economic policy. It's one reason many say John McCain must distance himself from Bush and choose a running mate strong on the economy. At the same time ,the GOP warns against democrats³, taxing is expanding in the country further in the whole.

Despite millions of foreclusures and a housing crisis, the average house is still worth more than what it was in 2001.That's a good news, if you have a steady job, are paying your mortgage , and haven't raided the home involved with equity⁴ . So how are you doing? Are you better or worse- off?

You can let us know, at I REPORT.com, forward slash⁵, better-off, tell us your story and you might see it down in CNN Money .com . For CNN, money, I'm Christine Romans.

1 chunk   

n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）

参考例句：

• They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
• The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。

2 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

3 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

5 slash   

vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩

参考例句：

• The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
• Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。