North Dakota's economy, though strong right now and in some ways even vibrant, of course has its problems. While there are jobs to be had, many of them good jobs, well-paying, there are too many others that pay low wages.

But on the whole, we're not bad off. States struggle with deficits. North Dakota legislators debate how much of a comparatively enormous surplus to spend.

There's an inborn sense of restraint, not only among our elected representatives but also found in most of us. Our law shows that. The people require the Legislature to balance the budget.

Perhaps an attitude of restraint explains why North Dakota isn't affected by the mortgage industry mess to the extent many other states are. Lenders and borrowers here tend to be careful.

In 2007, North Dakota ranked No. 46 among the states in foreclosures as a percentage of households. There were 308 filings. Granted, that was a 74 percent increase over 2006. While Nevada's foreclosure rate amounted to 3.4 percent of households, North Dakota's was less than one-tenth of 1 percent. The number of foreclosure filings in California in 2007 was 481,392. Florida and Michigan were hit hard.

The North Dakota economy is not invulnerable. The energy industry is solid, and oil production produces delicious tax revenues - but the price of crude oil is both boon and bane. Its impact on the prices of various kinds of fuel is painful. Farmers are grim about their diesel bill prospect.

Yes, there's the fact that some good money can be made in agriculture right now. But a worsening in drought conditions could change that quickly.

The debate over a new farm bill is a perfect illustration of our society's being perpetually engaged in determining what the role of government should be. And there probably isn't a single right answer to whether the federal government should have taken a more active role in preventing the mortgage malady by zealously regulating the banking industry.

Economists are arguing with each other about whether a law that is dead and gone should have been let to live on and perhaps prevent the mess. Part of the Glass-Steagall Act died in 1999, by the will of Congress and the approval of President Bill Clinton. The old act was a means of preventing the kind of over-eager, unsound investing that led to the Great Crash of 1929. Among many other provisions, the law forbade brokerages, commercial banks and investment banks from owning each other. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act took away the ban by repealing the 1933 act. Financial giants were given the green light to became more gigantic - Citigroup being a main player.

It's the same Citigroup that got so deep into mortgages. And lost billions. The sober fact is that nearly 9 million households owe more on their mortgages than the houses are worth. Mortgage debt nationwide is larger than equity, according to an Associated Press article quoting Merrill Lynch research.

All these matters, including whether tighter regulation is needed, must be campaign debate topics.

In the meantime, perhaps the North Dakota way of spending, borrowing and lending bears emulating.