I have a habit, or so my wife tells me, of staring intently, for minutes at a time, into an open refrigerator, in search of one particular item. When she can no longer stand it, or when the binging of the refrigerator alarm informs the world that its contents are now thawing, she gently asks me what I am looking for and points it out, sitting, as it always is, right in front of my nose.

I had a similar feeling of sheepish embarrassment last week, when I reflected on the impact of the extraordinary surge in wealth on the economic and financial environment. I spend a significant chunk of my life looking at stock indices and home prices. And yet, throughout this year, while agonizing about tenths of a percent in the unemployment rate or the inflation rate and how the Fed might interpret them, I have neglected to consider fully how burgeoning stock market and housing wealth has changed both the economic environment and the position of investors.