Okay, so let’s face it. Most of us are not economists. We don’t completely understand the ins and outs of what precipitated the sudden stock market meltdown in recent weeks. Maybe some of us, who are nearing retirement, don’t know what on earth to do with our 401(K) right now. The rest of us don’t know how to advise our parents on the best course of action for their retirement funds. Upcoming months, even years, are likely to be a bit rocky.

Politicians and the media tell us that Wall Street types are to blame. These greedy brokers were not satisfied with the wealth they’d already accumulated. They needed more, and they decided to make their money off the backs of struggling middle class Americans who wanted nothing more than to own their own home.

That’s half the story. But there is another side to it, too. Americans are too inclined to look for ways to satisfy their "wants," not only their "needs." Too many people run up credit card debt, living paycheck to paycheck, knowing that they can’t afford everything they take home from the store. In recent years, some Americans purchased homes despite the fact that they could not make a down payment. They knew that even one missed paycheck could cause them to default. But they didn’t care. Maybe they even went car-shopping the next day.

Common sense tells us that such debt-ridden lifestyles can’t be sustained forever. A crisis of some sort has been headed our way for a long time.

In the vice presidential debate a few weeks ago, Sarah Palin urged voters, "[Americans] need to band together and say never again. Never will we be exploited and taken advantage of again by those who are managing our money and loaning us these dollars." Well, sure, some Americans were taken advantage of by unscrupulous mortgage brokers. But most Americans were not. We may not all be economists, but we know that the American "buy now, think later" lifestyle is not a responsible way to live. The financial meltdown that is making headlines is not only the fault of corporate America. It is an indictment on the way that most Americans choose to spend their money. Uh, make that Mastercard’s money. Let’s just say that Wall Street brokers are not the only individuals who will need to change their ways in upcoming years.

As America recovers from this financial meltdown, we can and must learn from our mistakes—both at an individual level and a governmental level.

The lessons to be learned at the individual level are rather obvious. Financing one’s lifestyle with credit cards and bank mortgages never works in the long run. Eventually, such decisions will catch up with you. Americans need to do a better job of distinguishing between "wants" and "needs" and budget accordingly. Saving money for emergencies and for the future should take a higher priority. And those of us who can finance our "wants" should take more time to help those who are less fortunate.

Unfortunately, the lessons to be learned at the governmental level are likely to be harder to implement, judging by the big government overreactions of the past few weeks. But even those of us who are not economists can identify a few lessons to be learned.

First, when disasters are looming, don’t take so darn long to address the issues at hand. Admittedly, some of these issues might be political dynamite, but the longer we wait, the harder the issues become to resolve. Two more disasters loom in our future: Social Security and Medicare insolvency. These issues can and must be addressed during the next presidential administration.

Second, government over-involvement pretty much always makes things worse. One has to wonder if financial bailouts of S&Ls in the 1980s made today’s mortgage brokers just a little more willing to take big financial risks than they otherwise might have. Similar ramifications from this year’s $750 billion bailout are sure to be felt for decades. Presumably, some will argue at this juncture that the bailout was a necessary evil. Maybe so. But what if Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson had not made his early and hysterical announcement that the government must and would cure the private market problem? With a calmer approach, might not other, less drastic helps for the market have been found? Instead, Paulson’s words became a self-fulfilling prophecy. Once promised, his bailout became as necessary as he claimed it was.

Finally, the government can help voters to live within their means by living within its own means. Elected officials should strive to remember that they are not spending "government money." Every nickel they spend comes out of some taxpayer’s pocket. The past few years have been a decadent orgy of overspending, and it must stop. Unfortunately, the pork attached to the $700 billion bailout is an early indicator that federal officials have no intention of learning this lesson. So it’s up to us. To modify Palin’s statement, taxpayers must stand up, never again allowing ourselves to be taken advantage of by elected officials who are unable to appreciate the value of taxpayers’ money. We should further demand a federal balanced budget amendment, proving that we are serious about curing the nation’s spending problems.

The next few months or years are likely to be painful ones for our economy. But there is a silver lining: Purging toxic debt from our society and changing our mindset about spending could give us an opportunity to begin anew on a healthier financial path.