Was our country s economic success before the Crash of 08 built on false pretenses? Did we simply borrow and spend too much, or was something else really going on?

The conventional wisdom now accuses Wall Street and the mortgage industry of using predatory tactics to seduce homeowners. Meanwhile, average Americans are blamed for increasing consumption to unsustainable levels by borrowing recklessly. And the tax policies of the Reagan and Bush administrations are blamed for encouraging reckless risk-taking.

Edward Conard disagrees. In an attempt to set the record straight...