Max Sawicky asks, >And what about my Mom, whose >sole source of non-Social Security income is a lowly >interest-bearing financial asset? This isn't the "widows and orphans" theory of capitalism, is it? By the powers vested in me, I hearby declare Max's Mom *personnally exempt* from any wholesale cancellation of debt (provided that debt cancellation occurs on January 1, 2001). Seriously, though, how about those mutual funds? A couple of weeks ago, we had a drywall installer in to fix a hole in the ceiling. He talked enthusiastically about his contractor pals who were making so much money in the stock market they had given up doing construction work. Then just the other day, I was in a toy store and overheard two clerks talking about how you could borrow money from the bank, buy mutual funds and make enough money to live on the interest and still increase your principal. But there comes a point when the chain letter reaches the bottom of the feeding chain (to mix metaphors, while retaining a link), right? And then we have nothing to lose but our... umm, what's the word I'm looking for... bonds? Regards, Tom Walker, [EMAIL PROTECTED], (604) 669-3286 The TimeWork Web: http://mindlink.net/knowware/worksite.htm