The US does have a lot of wealth creating ability I agree, however we are currently unwilling to take the medicine after decades of excesses with the politicians all too willing to prop up and continue the credit party.
Exactly right.... This is why strucural reforms are so important....in that if implemented....the come back trail...."the creation of the next peak"...could happen a lot faster.... There is a lot of distrust of firms such as GS, MS etc...and this is well deserved mistrust....These types of business models have gamed the system and have created an unlevel playing field for individuals.... All securites need to have boilerplate entry and boilerplate accounting maintenance and reporting. Any qualified member bank could provide the highway for all qualified entrants for a small fee. Furthermore the BATS business model has already proven that it can replace the NYSE type model....and any individual that has internet access should be paying no more than 20 cents per 100 shares of whatever the security label is. Furthermore, there should be no more mutual funds, or hedge funds. They should just simply be listed as $10 units on the exchange....If the management is any good, it will be reflected in the price changes like any other stock.... The point being that a new world wide stock market with direct electronic access in the currency of choice.....and the extinction of the mistrust of the dinosauers such as a GS, MS....will make way for the most efficient capital to be supplied and held for a far more broader worldwide segment of individual participants..... This type of change...along with a change in the tax structure such as a 10% consumption tax only....would rapidly replace the recent missing wealth from individuals....