Investors, investors everywhere. (Capitalism saves: how becoming an investor can transform a person--and a nation).(Brief Article)(Polling Data)

Before World War II, only about a fifth of Americans owned stocks or bonds. Today, half of America's adults do. And even this number understates the size and impact of the nation's Investor Class, since many current non-investors expect to start investing in the future: Fully 71 percent of Americans are either investors now or expect to be soon (which is more people than are currently in the nation's workforce).

Throughout March of this year, my polling firm interviewed 1,000 adults each night on economic and investment matters, giving us a total sample of 30,000 adults and 13,844 investors to analyze in depth. We found that among persons age 18 to 29, 25 percent are already putting away savings, and 44 percent expect to in the future. Among 30- to 39-year-olds, the figures jump to 46 percent who are investors, with 28 percent expecting to be. The prevalence continues to rise with age.

Another factor that highlights the pervasive nature of the Investor Class today is that 58 percent of non-investors have family members or close friends who own investments. When all the numbers are put together, one finds that 88 percent of U.S. adults either invest, plan to, or have close friends and family members who do. Among those with a college degree, this figure jumps to 95 percent.

The cultural and political implications of such widespread familiarity with wealth building are staggering. At many social events, tales of stock market performance have replaced fish stories about the one that got away. As people enter their 30s, investing becomes close to the norm. A majority of those who earn $40,000 to $75,000 a year are investors, and among those earning more than $75,000, 82 percent invest.

So investors are no longer objects of wonder, envy, or scorn--they are the folks next door. The major reason why some people don't invest is simply a lack of available cash, not a lack of attraction. Only 7 percent of American adults now choose not to invest because they view it as too risky. Even fewer have any ideological or ethical objection. We live in a nation where becoming at least a minor capitalist is routine.

Some significant demographic differences do remain: While 50 percent of whites are accumulating wealth, only 28 percent of blacks are. (Another 34 percent of blacks expect to.) Likewise, 61 percent of college graduates are currently investing, compared to only 35 percent of those without a degree. When you add in those who expect to become investors, the numbers jump to 84 percent for college grads and 53 percent for those with a high school degree or less.

Government workers and private-sector employees frequently ...