In its typically austere manner (from a country well attuned to austerity after all), the BBC offers a video survey of some basic facts about America's economy: spiraling debt, sinking household incomes, etc. The punch line: "From 2001 to 2011 job growth in the U.S. was ZERO." [U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics]
Of course, both political parties promise a return to prosperity, if only the nation would adopt their special, patented formulas. Alas, these recipes have already failed and continue to do so. Have we embarked upon a second lost decade?