1. U.S. sovereign debt downgrade: first in American history 2. Federal spending (25% of GDP): highest since WWII 3. Budget deficit (10% of GDP): highest since WWII 4. Federal debt (67% of GDP): highest since just after WWII 5. Employment (58.1% of population working: lowest since 1983 6. Long-term unemployment (45.9% of total: highest since 1930s 7. Increase in non farm payroll employment (0.5%) since recovery began over 26 months ago: slowest job growth 26 months after a severe recession since WWII 8. Homeownership rate (59.7%): lowest since 1965 9. Percentage of taxpayers paying income tax (49%): lowest in modern...