In less than 50 years our country went from one of the worlds biggest creditors to the world's biggest debtor.

People from my grandparent's generation remember that cash is king and still stuff matresses. Time will tell if they were right.

My greatest concern is not long term outlook. The market is efficient at factoring predicable scenarios. It is short term shocks and unforseen circumstances that concern me most. The 01 attack and Katrina actually have shown the resilience of the economy as of late that have given me optimism but the Iran/N. Korea worst case scenarios bother me most.