Article April 20, 1998 Issue

So, what's next?

The economy is strong. Income is up for a lot of people. Things are looking good. But as a popular song once put it, "Is that all there is?"

By Warren Bolon

Call it "The List That Invaded Consciousness." OK, it was only a list in a newspaper of average starting salaries for newly minted college graduates. Innocent enough for a list.

(There are lists made to ogle—like the ten richest entertainers by gross income, and a perennial favorite, the ten best-performing mutual funds that have none of our money among their assets—harmless entertainment, so remote are they from real life.)

This, however, was a list with a hook. It urged comparison. The inner monologue went something like this: "That much ... for a liberal arts degree? Hey, what was my first salary, one fifth that amount? Well, maybe three fifths with inflation factored in. Hummm, where am I headed anyway? What's next?"