Wisconsin (WQOW) - Gov. Mitt Romney's campaign has a familiar question for voters. Democrats now say they have an answer.
"Remember Ronald Reagan talking about Jimmy Carter? Are you better off now than you were four years ago? Well, you know what? We knew it then and we know it now. They fired Carter and they hired Reagan and we are going to do the same thing this time," said Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan (R - Wisconsin) on a campaign stop in Ohio on Tuesday.
Democrats struggled to answer that question over the weekend, but now say they're willing to have this debate. They say, four years ago, before President Obama took office, we were in the midst of a financial crisis -- one of the worst since the Great Depression.
WQOW News 18 examined some of the important economic numbers from then and now. Four years ago this month, the state's unemployment rate was around 5%. It would rise to 7.7% the month the president took office. Today, Wisconsin's unemployment rate is 7.3%.
At this time in 2008, the median sale price of a home in Wisconsin was $158,000. According to the most recent report (July 2012), the median sale price is now at $143,000.
Another economic indicator is the price at the pump. Four years ago this month, you were paying $3.89 a gallon, which was down from the record high of $4.09 in July of 2008. Gas prices dropped to around $2.00 when the president was sworn in. Today, drivers in Eau Claire are paying $3.94.
