Doug Henwood wrote:
>
> Wall Street Journal - January 19, 2000
>
> Stock Gains Propel U.S. Wealth;
> More Americans Own Shares
>
> By YOCHI J. DREAZEN
>
> Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
>
> WASHINGTON -- Fueled by stock-market gains, America's wealth grew at
> a strong pace in the latter half of the 1990s, a new government
> survey shows. At the same time, a record number of Americans at all
> income levels now own stock, intertwining their financial well-being
> with that of the stock market like never before.
Let's see, I have yet to see any windfall from this robust economy. I'm a single male webmaster living in Washington, DC, making over $35,000 a year. Most of my income, after taxes, goes to paying the rent and past debts. Those debts are mostly credit card bills from my 20s and student loan debts. I was one of those idiots who had the opportunity to go to college in the 80s, before they made going to college easier in the financial sense. It was only last year that that fucking student loan interest deduction on my taxes really helped me.
I want to know when this robust economy is going to allow me to spend $60 on a pair of tennis shoes without feeling guilty. I want to know when I'll start spending less than 35% of my income on rent.
Lastly, I want to know when I'll be able to afford to buy a car. Last time I owned a car was 1989.
Economic prosperity, my ass.
-- Chuck0
Mid-Atlantic Infoshop http://www.infoshop.org/
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