You are very correct, Gary. The US economy does rely on credit. But that doesn't mean one should be so foolish as to purchase goods and services at usury rates.
Credit is not something to be taken lightly. It is a neccesity in today's world. Individually, we cannot worry about national politics when we purchase goods and services. We must be diligent in searching for the best terms possible; and in knowing exactly we can realistically afford in payments when using credit. This is why I'm such a strong advocate of putting financial education in school cirriculums. Our country's current financial crisis just underlines my belief in why this must be done. There are way too many things that a little education and common sense could have solved (actually prevented beforehand) for many of our citizen's financial problems.