Do you even know how to read a chart? Even at your "target price of 1150", it's still higher than it dropped to after the dot com bust. I didn't see "mass unemployment, high inflation and the other little nice things that characterized the 1970s....1930s" when that happened either. The dot com crash had the S&P down to the 700's and we all survived it just fine thank you. Seriously put away the tin foil hats...no one is out to get you.
You are already much poorer than you were back when the dot com bust happened. You just don't see it on the chart because you are looking at the wrong chart. Look at a chart of the USD against virtually any other currency or commodity and you'll be looking at something closer to the truth. Americans have been blessed with a strong currency for most of its history and are thus oblivious to the ramifications thinking forex doesn't matter. It matters.
It depends on what your definition of "survived just fine" means exactly. There are some Americans out there that have dreams and goals. Many folks that I knew were making more or just as much cash back around 2000 then they are right now. Since that time, their careers took a turn for the worse and their path has chopped about ever since...especially computer developers, programmers, etc. The slope of progression was up, up, up through out the 90s and then everything sizzled out during the 00s. People were paid decent salaries in the 90s and living was quite affordable. Houses were generally 150k and savings could be realized quite easily for the regular American. However, in today's world there is a different story. Good paying jobs are hard to find and savings is just a dream. Most Americans are happy with the fact of saving nothing. There isnt much room for advancement in the job world and its a competitive battle to get ahead. To some, this might not seem like the end of the world, but to a progressive goal-setting individual it is basically the end of the world. Its a reality that many are forced to accept each and everyday. Despite their hard work and diligence, there are many Americans who will not be realizing their dreams and simply spinning their wheels. For the willing individual who values a college education, diligence and honest hard work, we might as well break out the tin-foil hats. In today's society, there seems little inclusion for such an individual who had perfectly fit in to America during the 80s-90s. During the 80s-90s, I saw many new vehicles on the road and prosperity always seemed to be there. Lots of dreams were realized all the time with men like Michael Dell turning a cheap dorm room into a billion dollar operation. Now I see a roadway full of used junk vehicles and behind the wheel are sunken demoralized faces as they head to a thankless job each day or no job at all (unemployed). Business owners closing their doors and broken investors, broken homeowners now backwards on their loans. This to me is what I call a horror, a shameful event and is truly the end of the world...
Did I say any of that? No, I did not. All I showed was that the 5 year bull trend is intact. And ya know what? It undeniably IS in fact intact. To answer your last question I work for myself. Business is great. I don't think I will be laying myself off anytime soon. If you need a job call me, but chances are I would lay you off regardless of economic conditions.
Keep praying for that disaster. You actually could be right with your forecast if we have an unforseen disaster. I've been in business for 35 years, and what is really funny is none of our forecasts have been based, or depended on, any unforseen disasters. Hey, but what do I know.
hg, if you look at a 20 yr and draw the lines,somewhere around 1360-70 is the bottom of the bull channel, i think if we can't get back inside that we may be starting a bear mrkt run
Maybe so, but as a p&f kind of guy, we have an undeniable 5 year trend that actually was tested, and it has at least temporarily held. EDIT: There is no question we are at a turning point. My only argument is the market has not made a decision yet.
The market is not going anywhere meaningful without the financials. The most likely scenario is we test the 1400 area and fail, but no one really knows. All I know is we still have a bull trend, and my bullish% indicator is rising. As long as those two indcators hold I am looking to be long. If the trend breaks I will be looking for shorting opportunities because believe me, there will be plenty of them.