If the 1980s were the decade of greed, then the 1990s must be the decade of the 401K plan. How else to explain the fact that, in the orgy of celebration last week over the Dow Jones Industrial average's breaking 9000, not a peep was heard from America's liberals about their old bugaboo, Wall Street excess? The '90s, of course, have been even kinder to investors than the '80s. Only now, we have moral paragons in the White House, unlike during the benighted 1980s.
Oops, there was one peep. The Washington Post ran a front-page story that did recall the old days of stern, liberal egalitarianism: "Boom Is Fine - - If You Own Stock; The Millions Who Don't Are Only Falling Further Behind," read the headline. This is the sort of journalistic spin that used to greet every piece of good news in the Reagan era. In the spirit of Schadenfreude, THE SCRAPBOOK looks forward to similar journalistic treatment of Clinton- era good news: "Unemployment Rates Down -- But Those Without Jobs Are Still Unemployed." "Interest Rates Down -- Loan Sharks Hurting." Or, "Fewer Murders in Big Apple -- But Those Who Were Killed Are Still Dead."