ABSTRACT
Our nation stands on the threshold of the twenty-first century. Our economy, the largest and strongest in the world, spearheads the march into the next century proudly displaying the virtues of a free-market, capitalistic system. A soaring stock market, rising incomes, and low inflation and unemployment have been the hallmarks of the mid-1990s. Yet, beneath the fanfare there lies a small but nagging economic worry in the minds of many—a worry that has existed for many years now, and it ebbs and flows with the health of the economy.
