To: Investor2 who wrote (4928 ) 10/1/2009 8:34:06 PM From: Boca_PETE Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 10065 In the 1970's, we had rising inflation, wage-price controls, shortages, rationing, and rising interest rates. The graph you show of the market was the result of economic policies that produced the above imbalances. In the early 1980's, policies were put in to stop inflation, bring down high interest rates, lower taxes, spur economic growth and employment. The graph you show of the market shows how the market and economy took off on a long term growth path which benefited the standard of living form mostly everyone. We are now at a point where general inflation (except for food and energy) is teetering on deflation, interest rates are near zero, credit is unavailable, careless lending is causing loan writeoffs, banks are in terrible shape, taxes in one form or another are about to rise significantly, government deficits are exploding as spent money disappears mysteriously into unknown hands with no accountability, policies to fight recession discourage hiring and encourage economic contraction, union inefficiencies and further firing, an increasingly corrupt national government is getting larger and larger.... What does all this imply for future employment growth, future profits, future standard of living, inflation, interest rates? Happy days are here again? A large salad of green sprouts? Or is this the biggest bear trap in history about to syphon U.S. wealth out of investor's wallets into corrupt gangsters intent on global government power and wealth? Could it be that all those investors shoveling their savings back into the market are about to see their standard of living drop like a stone to again prove Newton's Law of Gravity? Or perhaps what is currently happening is just a bad nightmare from which I will momentarily wake up from screaming! JMHO, P