There's unprecedented prosperity, crime has dropped dramatically and the Internet offers an explosion of information. The things that are not so good are things that are less clearly visible. More Americans own their own homes. Everybody's got jobs. The top three killers in America remain heart disease, cancer and stroke, but death rates for all three are declining.
Obesity is a huge worry to health experts.
In 1992, 12.7 percent of Americans were obese, or about 30 pounds or more overweight. By 1999, the figure was 18.9 percent. About 15.5 percent of Americans were uninsured in 1999, up slightly from 15 percent in 1992. We're more diverse. The Hispanic population has soared by a third since 1992, from 24 million to 32 million.