Just think about what the last 40 years have done......

You can't support a family on the average wage. Even at 16$ an hour. Of course I don't know many people making this much by themselves I can still make the case that it takes both people in the household to make it.

Which by itself is pitiful. back in the 70's 4$ an hour seemed like real money. Wtf it was!

Now that at least one person is unemployed in most households what's going to happen to the rest of the economy? How many cars can we buy? Houses? TV's.

 Be awhile for a real recovery, don't you think.

oftwominds: "Safe" Investments Can Still Lose Purchasing Power

For example: many analysts have noted that the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) has returned to its September 1999 level in nominal terms. The standard commentary notes "we've gone nowhere in 10 years."

Not true: owners of the Dow have lost 23% in the past 10 years as the dollar--the currency the Dow is priced in--has declined by 23% in the past 10 years of "low inflation." Priced in gold, the Dow has lost 3/4 of its value.