This 2007 report by the Council on Competitiveness benchmarks current U.S. competitiveness against twenty years of domestic and global economic data. The baseline year of 1986 was chosen because it marked the beginning of cyclical expansion in the domestic economy, a high dollar, and an exploding trade deficit, which put the concept of competitiveness on the national agenda. It also marked the creation of the Council on Competitiveness. The report is a wide-ranging assessment of how the changing global economy presents new challenges for the future.