Household and U.S. Finances

I hear a lot about debt collection agencies but I don't really know much about them. With the market the way it is (we just lost $3500 in our 401K in the last couple months!) I would imagine a lot of people are trying to figure out how to manage their debt and keep a roof over their head. We are in the same boat as a lot of other families. It's a rough time.

Another stimulus package is rumored to be in the works in Washington. How are we going to pay down all this debt? $700 billion bailed out Wall Street (imagine if they'd divided that money up between U.S. tax payers instead...boy, we'd all be out of debt wouldn't we?).