The second term Obama administration is taking office facing challenging economic conditions. The economy continues to expand, yet the pace is disappointingly slow. The unemployment rate has fallen below 8 percent for the first time in almost 4 years, but is still unacceptably high. The economic expansion remains fragile and vulnerable to risks associated with financial strains in Europe and a confluence of expiring policies known as the fiscal cliff. And U.S. government debt is now at its highest level since the World War II period.

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