Hightower Lowdown

I have some simply fabulous news for you, darlings: Not only is our economy hotter than a high tech stock, but everyone who is anyone is getting unbelievably rich!

The Associated Press reports that there are twice as many millionaires in America today as there were five years ago. As a wealth strategist for J.P. Morgan gushed, "When you get into a cab and the driver is telling you what he's buying and selling, you know times have changed." Millionaire cab drivers—what a concept!

Meanwhile, back on planet Earth, the economic news for the vast majority of the 97% of Americans who are not millionaires is a bit grittier. Despite the much ballyhooed Wall Street Boom, and despite the fact that worker productivity continues to climb, real wages today are lower than when Nixon was president. Eighty percent of Americans have not been part of the boom, instead seeing their incomes go flat or go down. And while stories abound about job creation, little is mentioned about job destruction. Here's a sobering economic indicator: In the past two years, U.S. corporations have terminated more workers than at any other time in the decade, including the early '90s when job cuts were big news and politicians seemed to care.