"The underlying problem has been building for decades. America’s median hourly wage is barely higher than it was 35 years ago, adjusted for inflation. The income of a man in his 30s is now 12 percent below that of a man his age three decades ago. Most of what’s been earned in America since then has gone to the richest 5 percent."

People don't tend to believe this because they, and everyone they know, is more prosperous than they were 35 years ago (I was graduating from college). And when I graduated from college, flat broke, I was out of debt and knew I'd get a job in no time. I was confident about my future. Have you talked to any recent graduates lately? We have all been riding the gravy train, doing better and better every year, so we perceive the economy as being fundamentally stronger than it was in the past. In a way, it is, for us!

What we often fail to realize is that over the past three-four decades we have been getting older, more experienced, and moving up the career ladder. As boomers, all of our friends and acquaintances have been moving up right along with us. It's natural for our income to go up, we're getting better at our jobs and moving up in position and income. But it ain't the economy that's been improving, it's us.

In a weird case of economic relativity, we perceive this as the times are getting better, but when our careers reach the top of their arcs, those of us who didn't save, invest, or score a job with a pension are in for a very rude awakening. Not much saving has been going on for the last 30-40 years, we (and our spouses) been out spending our cash, getting into debt, supporting that economy.

When I get my tax rebate, it's going straight into my IRA, where it will do no one but me any good.