How did we get here?  The good old USA is not so good anymore!  When I was a child, our nation was one of the most respected and powerful nations of the world.  We were all proud to be Americans and felt safe and secure within its geographical boundaries.  We never feared terrorists.  The concept of terrorism’s existence was so far removed from our minds and hearts.  Our neighbors spoke to each other on a daily basis.  Sure, we all had our secrets; but we never had to fear that our next-door neighbor was building a bomb in his basement.

How did the richest nation in the world get so poor?  When I was a child, my parents had plenty of savings in the bank.  My parents never owned a credit card.  They bought their cars brand spanking new and never bought another new car until they had enough money in the bank to purchase a new one.  We were not wealthy.  My parents lived through the depression and learned to live frugally as a result.  My parents worked hard and saved, saved, and saved.  We always had nice clothes, plenty of food to eat and desserts as well!  We took summer vacations and took road trips all over the country.  Now as an adult, I could live very well if I chose to remain single.  But no, I am married and have a family, with debt, and debt, and more debt.  We do not live beyond our means, we just can’t make enough money to get past the debt incurred by: four job losses due to downsizing within the span of ten years; very few if any pay increases; rising energy costs contributing to higher housing, food and clothing prices.  Need I say more?

Where do we go from here?  Will I live to see better times again?  Will my children ever see a good new USA?