The Romney-Ryan campaign has been asking, "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" My answer on a personal level is, "Yes." More importantly, the answer is also "Yes" for most of my fellow Virginians.

On the financial front, unemployment today in Virginia is 0.2 percent lower than it was in February of 2009, Barack Obama's first month in office. The median house price in Northern Virginia has risen from $314,699 in February 2009 to $459,751 in August 2012. Over the same period, average weekly nongovernment wages in Virginia have risen from $772 to $861.

The progress is not just financial. The Iraq war is ended. The drawdown of troops in Afghanistan has begun. Osama Bin Laden and many other terrorist leaders have been captured or killed. The Obama administration increased the Veterans Affairs Department's budget by 16 percent in 2010 and 10 percent in 2011. The GI Bill has been expanded and tax credits have been added that encourage businesses to hire veterans.

More Americans have health insurance and access to health care. Higher education is more available to more Americans. Banks are no longer subsidized to provide student loans, and $36 billion from the resulting savings will be used to expand Pell Grants to low-income students over the next 10 years.

I believe this country can benefit from four more years of the Obama-Biden administration--leadership that has led us to an improved economy, increased security, and increased opportunity.

Will Tad Johnston

Fredericksburg