Me, I was waiting tables of 13 and married at 19. I graduated from public schools, and taught elementary school.

College students today are drowning in debt, and it is hurting them and hurting our economy. We must find a way to help families pay for college without condemning them to a lifetime of indebtedness.

My advice is to treat [credit cards] like what they are: little plastic grenades that must be handled very carefully.

[My grandkids] are 5, 10, and 15. While they're young and still at home, I think it's all about learning the value of money.

Congress must go further to protect the right to privacy, to end the NSA's dragnet surveillance of ordinary Americans, to make the intelligence community more transparent and accountable.

Get your money in balance. One rule of thumb is 50/30/20. Spend about 50% of your money on must-haves - things like rent, car payments - and about 30% on wants, while 20% should go toward savings and paying down debt.

Get out of debt. In a world of stagnant incomes and rising core expenses like mortgage and health care costs, that's a lot easier said than done. The middle class is under enormous pressure. But families can stop the bleeding by reducing their reliance on debt wherever they can. They can also start fighting back by taking a hard look at whom they do business with and rethinking whether they want tricks-and-traps banks to hold their money. They can also demand that public officials take the side of families over the side of banks.