September 4, 2017--Wealth & Democracy

In a 2002 book of this title by Kevin Phillips (my favorite conservative writer), with the subtitle: A Political History of the American Rich, speaking about wealth formation over the course of American history, turning to the early 1980s, Phillips talks about how the technology sector began to contribute to a surge in the American economy--

Technology was gathering force in the eighties, dropping hints of greater things to come. Sector firms were among the stock market high-fliers of 1979-82: Tandy, Teledyne, Wang Labs, Prime Computer, Datapoint, Rolm, MCI, and many more.  

A decade earlier the stock market's "Nifty-Fifty" had also had a high-technology vanguard: Polaroid, Xerox, Electronic Data Systems. Breakdowns of manufacturing spending during the 1979-83 slump and turnaround showed high-tech industries alone performing in a steady upturn.

Not only did various bubbles subsequently burst, but how many of these former high-fliers are still around? Those that are, like Xerox, are greatly diminished.

Lesson--

Proceed very carefully.