Despite an economic recovery in its sixth year, more American households are in debt now than at any point in the past 15 years, particularly the middle class. In fact, in the past several years household debt has risen faster than family income and, on average, exceeds annual income for the first time since the Federal Reserve started surveying consumer finances in the early 1980s. The explosion in debt -- fueled largely by mortgage lending on residential housing that rose in value and then leveled off or declined -- has some economists worrying that the next economic recession will be devastating to families that already owe so much. Others complain that state and federal governments are not protecting consumers from abusive credit card and payday-lending practices. But proponents of the expansion in consumer credit say it has helped to democratize homeownership and fuel the current economic expansion.

Barbara Mantel is a freelance writer in New York City whose work has appeared in The New York Times, the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology and Mamm Magazine. She is a former correspondent and senior producer for National Public Radio and has won several journalism awards, including the National Press Club's Best Consumer Journalism Award and Lincoln University's Unity Award. She holds a B.A. in history and economics from the University of Virginia and an M.A. in economics from Northwestern University.