We are in one of the most dangerous markets in history. The economy continues to weaken while the market gets more expensive.
There are three main ways to grow an economy:
Demographics, population growth.
Education, which includes free speech and freedom of the press.
Social health and welfare, often with government funding.
The rate of growth of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been hampered for decades.
Since the baby boom of the last century there has been a baby dearth. America is barely in replacement ratio while our population grows older. Much of the world is in the same situation. There is an obvious decline in immigration and a rise in deportation. In addition, the rich have been moving assets offshore and there has been a continual wave of Americans giving up their U.S. citizenship. We are losing members of both the working class and the wealthy.
There are significant changes in our society that can impact our financial well being. We appear to be moving away from free markets. The noted economist, Richard Duncan, argues that America is no longer a capitalist market. He now calls our system Creditism. There is substantial evidence that international credit markets have dominated all financial systems for many years. It is among the reasons that we have the largest wealth gap in our history and our latest generation may face the first decline in living standards. This has been developing for many years. The present management of our country with the “big beautiful bill ” could create great economic progress. However, there is no obligation to include risk disclosure in our legislation. Therefore, there is equal, perhaps more risk, that our numerous problems may continue or get worse. Our economy may continue to decline along with an increase in both government debt and deficit. The wealth gap may worsen which is what happened with the last Trump tax bill. The dollar may continue to go down during a period of international efforts to diminish its status as the reserve currency. There is a reduced effort towards disclosure and transparency and the attacks on free speech and freedom of the press will not abate. The role of democracy is uncertain at present. Volatility in the financial markets can become more dramatic. Keep in mind, inflation is cumulative and taxation uncertain.