A Hidden Epidemic of Emotional Problems. Economists like to think about the average U.S. citizen who studies the market, has 2.3 children, earns $28,000, and is married 1.9 times. A recent poll by The New York Times adds some statistics to this construct in an age of unemployment. (See, "Poll Reveals the Trauma of Joblessness.")

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How Long Will It Last?

One of the great myths about America is that we are a middle class society. That is, most of us fit between the extremes of wealth and poverty.

This myth may have originated with the fact that, unlike Europe - and the rest of the world, for that matter - we started out with no aristocracy or serfs. That lack of inherited privilege or servitude has linked to several other ideas about ourselves we also hold dear, that we are a land of opportunity and equality.

Elizabeth Warren, Chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel and Harvard law professor, has recently speculated about "America Without a Middle Class."

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The Silent Majority

Political observers were surprised last week when legislation to approve gay marriage in New York went down to a substantial defeat. But some of the explanations offered were even more surprising.

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The Dread of Changing Health Policies

A couple of weeks ago, the government set up new guidelines for breast cancer screening - and provoked a storm of protests. The evidence, carefully sifted by the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force, showed that a mammogram every second year was sufficient to protect women in their forties, not the once yearly test previously recommended. But they did not reckon on the emotional fallout from their announcement.

For many people, it looked like the Task Force was taking a crucial protection away from women.

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