My view is that the American economy has major structural issues that will prevent it from legitimate real growth in the years ahead. Because of structural problems, politicians will react with political responses which will only do more harm and lead to inflation. Government cannot and will not fix the economic issues that are structural in nature. Only a liquidation of bad investment and market-based allocation of capital and resources into productive areas of the economy can get the economy growing again and thus lead to real job creation.

Stock markets are unlikely to generate the return going forward that most investors expect. Buying and holding the broad market is not a wise strategy considering real economic growth over the next 30 years will likely look very different than the previous 30 years. I believe in stock picking and an emphasis on Dividend Stocks. I also believe the markets are manipulated to a certain degree via Wall Street schemes like high frequency trading and Federal Reserve easy monetary policy. It's important to factor in currency devaluation when determining real rate of return in stocks. I disagree with most mainstream financial planning advice in that you should passively invest in the broad market - this form of investing seeks to benefit Wall Street not you.

A tough economic environment means it is difficult for the masses looking to do nothing more than be an employee. To prosper in this environment you have to be creative, innovative and willing to compete and work harder than your neighbor. I believe we're increasingly moving towards a time where more people work multiple jobs and make a living in a number of different ways - increasingly moving away from the era where a man works for a single company for an entire career. I believe in working hard to generate multiple streams of income and often discuss ways to make money online to achieve financial freedom. I document on this blog the income I make with various websites and online businesses.