I thought this was an interesting image (via Paul Kedrosky) showing historical GDP growth with and without mortgage equity withdrawals (MEW).  Makes the last 7 or 8 years look pretty artificial in terms of real growth but maybe was initially necessary to get us through the last downturn and subsequent economic impact of 9/11.  Like all things taken to excess, there is a price to be paid and we need to focus on real GDP growth going forward.