[grudk]

Every generation faces challenges, and you can find 'gloom and doom' predictions going back centuries. That said, I think we are in for a very bad recession lasting at least a couple of years. It's clear that the gov't/FED will do what they can to socialize the losses, and this will 'soften' the recession in some ways, but also prolong it. Longer term, I see the US going left politically (just a matter of demographics), and as such look for higher taxes and more entitlements. I think we'll look a lot more like Europe in a decade or two. I still like stocks longer term, and real estate once the price has adjusted (several years away). Suspect we'll have a few more 'bubbles' before things really go socialist. A 'black swan' event could really mix it up, short term, though (another terrorist attack, eco-disaster like another Katrina or big earthquake, war expansion)