It's not that uncommon for a particular asset class to lose money for a decade. But a basket comprising the safest investments from the major asset classes sho

It's not that uncommon for a particular asset class to lose money for a decade. But a basket comprising the safest investments from the major asset classes should never lose money over a 10 year period. Nor should CD's lose money over a 10 year period. If they do, it's a sign the financial system has serious problems. And if the average investor is losing money, while those running the show ( Wall St., the Ivy League endowments, Robert Rubin, Rahm Emmanuel ) are making more than ever, it's a sign the financial system is not only fubarred, but down right corrupt. The underlying issue is the dilution rate of the dollar. From 1998 to 2008 the money supply was diluting at ~10% a year. With the money supply growing that fast, and CD's are paying only ~3% a year, holding anything other than dollars seems like a good idea. So people speculate in stocks, gold, oil, real estate - anything that dilutes at a lower rate than dollars. But most people aren't good at speculating, so they lose money. No government running a sound money system should be diluting at 10% a year. It's simply inexcusable.