Not long ago, the news was dominated by the claim that, during a political rally, President Donald Trump had “invited” Iran to attack two cities in California. Of course, Trump said no such thing. Instead, in his unartful way, he was arguing that higher gas prices were worth the price in order to ensure that Iran was not able to acquire a nuclear weapon. He was addressing the issue of resilience, the ability of a country to deal with problems during a time of crisis. The United States demonstrated resilience during the Great Depression and World War II. It has weathered Vietnam and bouts of inflation. But American wealth, innovation, and productivity have, for the most part, allowed the U.S. to avoid the sort of costly consequences that, say, Russia and Ukraine have borne during their ongoing war.