Editing Dot-com bubble (section)

==Prelude to the bubble==
{{see also|1990s United States boom}}
The 1993 release of [[Mosaic (web browser)|Mosaic]] and subsequent [[web browser]]s during the following years gave computer users access to the [[World Wide Web]], popularizing use of the Internet.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.news-gazette.com/news/mosaic-started-web-rush-internet-boom/article_a459cd7f-dafe-5de4-a5fe-c3723a009af2.html |title=Mosaic started Web rush, Internet boom |first=Greg |last=Kline |work=[[The News-Gazette (Champaign-Urbana)|The News-Gazette]] |date=April 20, 2003 |access-date=February 10, 2020 |archive-date=June 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613132107/https://www.news-gazette.com/news/mosaic-started-web-rush-internet-boom/article_a459cd7f-dafe-5de4-a5fe-c3723a009af2.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Internet use increased as a result of the reduction of the "[[digital divide]]" and advances in connectivity, uses of the Internet, and computer education. Between 1990 and 1997, the percentage of households in the United States owning computers increased from 15% to 35% as computer ownership progressed from a luxury to a necessity.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/archive/computer-ownership-up-sharply-in-the-1990s.pdf |title=Issues in labor Statistics |publisher=[[U.S. Department of Labor]] |year=1999 |access-date=2017-04-14 |archive-date=2017-05-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170512120401/https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/archive/computer-ownership-up-sharply-in-the-1990s.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> This marked the shift to the [[Information Age]], an economy based on [[information technology]], and many new companies were founded.

At the same time, a decline in interest rates increased the availability of capital.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/history-of-the-dot-com-bubble-in-photos-2016-2/ |title=If you're too young to remember the insanity of the dot-com bubble, check out these pictures |first=Matt |last=Weinberger |work=[[Business Insider]] |date=February 3, 2016 |access-date=February 10, 2020 |archive-date=March 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200313233345/https://www.businessinsider.com/history-of-the-dot-com-bubble-in-photos-2016-2 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997]], which lowered the top marginal [[capital gains tax in the United States]], also made people more willing to make more speculative investments.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/heres-why-the-dot-com-bubble-began-and-why-it-popped-2010-12 |title=Here's Why The Dot Com Bubble Began And Why It Popped |work=[[Business Insider]] |date=December 15, 2010 |access-date=February 10, 2020 |archive-date=April 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406151705/https://www.businessinsider.com/heres-why-the-dot-com-bubble-began-and-why-it-popped-2010-12 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Alan Greenspan]], then-[[Chair of the Federal Reserve]], allegedly fueled investments in the stock market by putting a positive spin on stock valuations.<ref name=enigma/> The [[Telecommunications Act of 1996]] was expected to result in many new technologies from which many people wanted to profit.<ref name=now />