The difference between then and now is that rising health care costs, once masked by a buoyant stock market, have become a matter of national urgency.

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The buoyant stock market is giving the economy and consumers a lift.

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In 1929, the American stock market was booming, inflation was low, the economy was buoyant and many talked of a " New Era" of growth, fuelled by the brave new technologies of planes, cars and - wireless.

BBC: More