The US may or may not know it but they are already having their own version of the lost decade just like Japan. The US Fed is making the same mistakes the BOJ did by continuing their Asset purchase programs despite the fact they have no impact at all!! I think that by continuing the stimulis, the fed is actually extending the recession they are in.
My theory sounds unusual but by stopping the stimulis you allow markets, commodities, equities etc to collapse. By doing so you allow wealth creation to occur when value starts to enter the market. Consumers then come off the sidleines and start spending again simply because goods/services become cheap. It then builds confidence and the new bull cycle starts again as consumers start the habit of buying.
But until this collapse occurs, I think markets/economies will track sideways for years to come.
