A response to the Catholic Bishops' Pastoral on the U.S. economy, this book presents a lay point of view on Catholic social thought and the economy. Three fundamental principles of Catholic social thought are stated: the sacred dignity of the person, the social nature of human life, and the obligation to assign social decisions to the level of authority best suited to take them (subsidiarity). Within those principles, a sense of balance must be maintained. Co-published with the Lay Commission on Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy.