...the fact is we desperately need consumers willing to spend every dime they make and then some on items such as $50,000 SUVs and million-dollar vacation homes. If Americans ever started saving money like those prudent Japanese consumers, countless industries besides our own would be on the ropes...

...So the key question is this: Will U.S. consumers continue to consume as they have in the past decade? Or will they--­horrors!--­get real and start living within their means? We may not think that we’ve bet the ranch on the answer. But we have, because, besides our jobs, the rising value of both of our homes depends on the outcome.