Morton Gage is employed by Bigbux National Bank, which is one of the largest banks in the Midwest. He is a loan officer, specializing in home equity loans. Uncle Timothy, Mort's favorite (and wealthiest) relative, passed away last month and left Mort a sizable amount of money. Mort is looking at the best way to invest his newly acquired wealth. He is considering many options, ranging from simply putting the money into a savings account to the possibility of starting his own business. Although his bank job pays well and offers pleasant working conditions, Mort is frustrated because he has little freedom or flexibility to deal with customers. Every decision he makes must be approved by his supervisor. Besides, he's a bit bored and looking for a challenge. He thinks he might get a lot of satisfaction from owning his own business. Mort has not made a definite decision yet, but has talked to a lot of people searching for a good idea for a new business. If he can come up with an idea he likes, he might just quit his current job and use his inheritance to go into business for himself!

Some friends have approached Mort with a proposal to start a day care center for young children in his community. Mort does not know much about this type of business and wonders about its long term potential. An important trend for Mort to consider is that:

Select one:

a. the service sector is likely to decline in significance in the next few years.

b. the number of young children in the U.S. will decrease significantly over the next few years as the population of the country levels off.

c. the number of two-income families is likely to remain high, thus providing a strong demand for this type of business.

d. incomes are increasing so rapidly in two-income families that the majority of these households soon will be able to afford private baby sitters thus reducing the demand for day care.