But a national debt of more than $14 trillion makes us vulnerable because our economy is the wellspring of our military might, as well as the happiness and self-confidence of a fully employed people.
A new study by Demos finds that one-fifth of middle-class families are living paycheck to paycheck, with little margin of security.
Senior Fellow Algernon Austin writes about the soaring cost of college tuition and the graduation rates of of low-income and minority students.
Between 1992 and 2001, the average credit-card debt among Americans over age 65 nearly doubled to $4,041.