As the Federal Reserve raises interest rates, the American economy and its citizens have much to consider.

1. As 10-, 5- and 2-year notes come due and must be rolled over, higher rates will mean that more of our national budget will be spent on paying for higher budget deficits caused by ill-considered tax cuts.

2. Higher rates will affect everything from mortgage rates, the price of working capital as banks raise rates and rates on sub-prime auto loans will rise.

3. Rising economic stress on households may cause more people to fall further behind on credit card payments.

I believe that our economy is not anywhere near so healthy as it is portrayed.

John Huffman, Springdale