This Decade Wasn't All Bad

There's been a lot of year-end chatter about the '00s being the worst decade ever. For stocks, that does seem to be the case. But my old colleague Andy Serwer, among others, has extended the argument to stand for the decade as a whole. It's not a hard case to make: 9/11, Iraq, Enron, Katrina, stagnant wages, double-digit unemployment, the Knicks ... yeah, it was crappy.

But the worst? There's more competition among dastardly decades than much of the commentary has acknowledged; the 1930s were really bad--pretty much from beginning to end--and the 1870s were no picnic. Besides, a decade is a long time, and the world is a big place--it's next to impossible for everything to always be bad for everyone over 10 years. Even given a largely American focus, there are a few positive things to remember about this decade before sending it on its lousy way.