After a brutal recession and years of sluggish recovery, many indicators suggest the U.S. economy is gaining real momentum. GDP rose by 5 percent in the third quarter of 2014, the biggest quarterly gain since 2003. The addition of 252,000 jobs in December capped a year of gains that was the strongest since 1999. Consumer sentiment is as high as it's been in seven years. Throw in lower gas prices and many people are in better financial shape than they have been in years, though lackluster wage growth is a festering problem.
