What would happen if, tomorrow, the national debt could be paid off with no inflation or other ill effect, and if the per capita income of our nation could be doubled, and if we discovered a means of extending human life to 100 youthful years, and…well, put in whatever else you wish.  What would happen?  In twenty-five years, we would find ourselves again bedeviled with problems that seem insoluble and crushing, and we would again bemoan our wretched state. After we won the Cold War, there was an immediate peace dividend that allowed us, if we would, to run budgetary surpluses until the national debt was paid off while lowering tax rates and leaving social spending unchanged.  What happened?  That toxic stew of materialism, nihilism, and instant gratification corrupted everything. Our problems are not economic.  We live in an America in which the greatest health problems are obesity and inactivity and our greatest mental health problems are...(Read Full Article)