Are we better off economically now than 4 years ago?

In brief, I don't think so. Here's some context to back that up.

From the New York Times:

What is happening is nothing less than a deterioration in the standard of living in the 
United States. Despite the statistical growth in the economy, the continued slack in the
 labor market has resulted in declining real wages for anxious American workers and a marked 
deterioration in job quality.

From 2000 through 2003 the median household income fell by $1,500 (in 2003 dollars) - a 
significant 3.4 percent decrease. That information becomes startling when you consider that 
during the same period there was a strong 12 percent increase in productivity among U.S. 
workers. Economists will tell you that productivity increases go hand-in-hand with increases 
in the standard of living. But not this time. Here we have a 3.4 percent loss in real income 
juxtaposed with a big jump in productivity.

"So the economic pie is growing gangbusters and the typical household is falling behind," 
said Jared Bernstein, the institute's senior economist and a co-author of the new book.

Here's a link to the full article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/06/opinion/06herbert.html?hp

If you're interested in more economic criticism of the Bush Administration, try here:

http://www.pkarchive.org/

Paul Krugman has been an outspoken critic with good evidence for what he says. He's also got an official web page, but the one listed above is, I think, easier to use.