Not everyone lives off of home equity (I certainly don’t).
American is the most productive nations on earth, with tremendous natural and human resources.
Not everyone lives on Credit Cards. I have great credit and when I need it, get a teaser 0% rate on a new card and then pay it off before the rate adjusts.
If we get out of Iraq and reverse Bush’s tax cuts for the super-rich we would, easily, run a budget surplus.
Re: the economy. Nothing can turn around a sinking ship. What is going to happen is everyone is going to, one way or another, be forced to live within their means. I.e., things are going to reduce to where they should have been in the first place, before the credit bubble. For some this is ugly.