Since the end of World War II, almost automatically, each generation expected to be better off then the previous one. No more. The American economy is in decline. The rapidity of the collapse has been startling by historical standards. Thanks to reckless bi-partisan policies at home and endless imperialism and militarism overseas the salad days of prosperity are over and unlikely to return. The national debt, the budget deficit, the trade deficit, and individual debt are huge. The rate of home foreclosures has not been seen the Great Depression of the 1930s. Corporate and personal bankruptcies are sharply rising. The math is pretty simple. If you keep borrowing and borrowing, sooner or later you have to pay up. The sharks are out there taking bigger and bigger bites of your wallet and, if you have any, your savings.

Kevin Phillips was chief political analyst for the 1968 Republican presidential campaign, which culminated in the victory of Richard Nixon. Phillips also was partly responsible for the design of the Republican "Southern strategy," which transformed the once Democratic South into a Republican stronghold. In 1969 he wrote The Emerging Republican Majority. His politics have evolved over the ensuing decades. He is the author of many books including American Theocracy and Bad Money.