How we got in this mess, and how we can get out

Economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman offers a good capsule of the sad shift in public thinking about public-sector investments during the past few decades in a column published Sunday, headlined "America Goes Dark."

Along with some discouragingly sharp analysis of the problem, though, Krugman points to the solution: More investment in the structures that could make our society work for everyone. That means adequate funding for government so it can maintain roads, keep the lights on, and maintain educational opportunities for children and adults.