For my first column of the New Year, I want to lead with a quick broad reminder of why, despite all the problems the media bombard you with daily, there are great reasons for optimism. 1. Americans are beginning to understand the enormity of the problem posed by our high levels of debt—a problem recognized is a problem half-solved—and they’re beginning to take steps to solve it. On the individual level, people are saving for major purchases, instead of just buying them on credit. At the state level, even the governors of both New York and Massachusetts—typically tax-and-spend Democrats—are...