With the war in Iraq having been successfully concluded, Americans are beginning to focus once again on the economy. Corporate scandals, a sagging stock market and rising unemployment seem to be on everyone's mind. I can sympathize with that.

It's like the pollster who was taking a survey of how much of people's income goes to different kinds of spending. The person being interviewed said, "I spend 40 percent of my income on housing, 20 percent on clothing, 40 percent on food, and 20 percent on transportation and amusement." The pollster said, "But sir, that adds up to 120 percent." The reply was, "I know it!"

Some of us, when the credit card bills come due, are probably discovering that we are spending at least 100 percent of our income.

As one man put it: "From the time an infant first str…