Simon Companys year-end balance sheets follow.

At December 31	Current Year	1 Year Ago	2 Years Ago
Assets
Cash	$ 33,987	$ 38,949	$ 40,564
Accounts receivable, net	94,642	69,524	51,964
Merchandise inventory	120,209	90,970	57,041
Prepaid expenses	10,945	10,326	4,551
Plant assets, net	304,975	277,091	247,580
Total assets	$ 564,758	$ 486,860	$ 401,700
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable	$ 142,031	$ 80,634	$ 54,615
Long-term notes payable	107,236	113,098	88,776
Common stock, $10 par value	162,500	162,500	162,500
Retained earnings	152,991	130,628	95,809
Total liabilities and equity	$ 564,758	$ 486,860	$ 401,700

The companys income statements for the current year and one year ago, follow.

For Year Ended December 31	Current Year		1 Year Ago
Sales		$ 734,185		$ 579,363
Cost of goods sold	$ 447,853		$ 376,586
Other operating expenses	227,597		146,579
Interest expense	12,481		13,325
Income tax expense	9,544		8,690
Total costs and expenses		697,475		545,180
Net income		$ 36,710		$ 34,183
Earnings per share		$ 2.26		$ 2.10

(2-a) Compute debt-to-equity ratio for the current year and one year ago. (2-b) Based on debt-to-equity ratio, does the company have more or less debt in the current year versus one year ago?