FRANK P. BELCASTRO Dubuque, IA

From the time when President Bush took office to now, the cost of a family health insurance premium has gone up 87%; the number of uninsured people has gone up 19%; the number of families living in poverty has gone up 19%; real median household income has dropped 1%; and corporate profits have gone up 68%.

The worst legacy of the past eight years is that despite colossal government spending, most Americans are worse off than they were in 2001.

This is because money was squandered in Iraq and given as a tax windfall to America’s richest individuals and corporations, rather than spent on such projects as education, infrastructure, and energy independence, which would have made us all better off in the long term.

Yet, in this last election, 48% voted Republican, instead of against the party, and for the man who voted with the Bush administration 90% of the time.

And we wonder what is wrong with the country!