@hawkeye10,
On the fundamental fact that 20% owns 80% of the assets tells 'some' of the story. However, that's also somewhat of a plus as it pertains to controlling inflation - even as the government continues to print more money.
That's because our economy continues to improve, and more people are finding jobs - some with some great wages and benefits. That can be seen especially here in Silicon Valley where we enjoy some of the highest average wages and benefits in the country.
The unemployment rate now sits at about 6.1% based on consistent methods to measure it. Our economy can't be compared to the past, because the world's economies have changed dramatically also. There is no way to compare the economies of the 90's to today; it's more of a world economy today than it was two decades ago. What happened during that time period were also different; we not only had the shift in wealth to fewer people, but the Great Recession also impacted the world's economies.
It took China over 35 years from a strictly communistic country to what we see today; private ownership of companies that transformed it into the second largest economy in the world.
The middle class in the US is much stronger than many realize. Housing and auto demand and sales indicates a stronger economy. And this time, it isn't built on a bubble of selling to people with poor credit; the default rate is still relatively low, because consumer credit quality is still high.
Most, if not all, investors have recovered 100% of their loss from 2008-2009, and equity in their homes are building up at a healthy pace at most locations.
Just look at the leisure industry where many tours are sold out - even at the $5,000 plus price range. Airlines are again making profit - even American Airlines.
Many things in our economy are looking positive for future growth. The short term ups and downs of the stock market is of little worry; the long-term uptrend is stable.
