How to Put the Brakes on Consumers' Debt

I've been asked my opinion of this recent article on Dave Ramsey by Helaine Olen. As longtime readers probably know, I went on the Dave Ramsey plan for an Atlantic article in 2009. Since then, my husband and I have attacked our debt, with the exception of small student loans that for tedious reasons couldn't be paid off early. Our cars are debt-free, we're paying down our house early, and we're currently doing a fairly major home project for cash. Because Olen doesn't like Ramsey, and I clearly do, this naturally led a few folks to ask me what I thought.

I should start by pointing out that I've met (and like) Olen. But we differ greatly in our perspectives on the personal-finance industry; she views personal-finance advice as a mostly useless distraction from macroeconomic trends such as stagnant real wages and the disappearance of defined-benefit pensions. I view solid personal finance as more vital than ever in an era of economic insecurity.