I'm not sure I agree with the analysis and reasoning, but I definitely think we're due for a decade or so more of mediocre equity performance, in addition to the lackluster decade we've had.<p>The bull market of the 1980s and '90s came from the entrance of middle-class Americans into the stock market. Before 1980, equities were considered risky (and were so, compared to bonds and annuities) and were seen as a "rich person's game", but this changed once people became educated about the "equity premium", which may no longer exist, and diversification. The influx of new investors allowed the markets to rally, rejuvenating Wall Street, an industry that had been fading up to that point.<p>Given the economic problems the U.S. currently faces, I think we're looking at a decade or more of mediocre equity performance. S&P/dollar isn't terrible, but S&P/euro is pathetic. The erosion of the U.S. middle class is a troubling sign, and I don't think we'll see the next bull market until this trend is reversed so decisively that a new middle class is being <i>created</i>. That point seems to be rather far off, in my estimation.