What is your take on the current economy?

Ride the wave until it crashes into the shore

I've been bearish on the market for a couple of years now, so I'll go ahead and give my quick take.

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GDP ~3% growth
Unemployment ~4%
Interest rates ~1.5% (and rising)

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Yeah. You could argue that things like this look like the peak of something, and due for reversion to the mean, except the real GDP growth really isn't that unusual. I think the latest projections are for annual real GDP growth for 2017 to be right around 2.7%, so there's not a whole lot unusual here.

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Massive consumer debt
Massive student loan debt
Massive auto loan debt

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I would argue that there's not too much shaky here either. Yes, the amount of outstanding student loans has sharply increased in recent years, but it's still small relative to mortgages and other forms of debt.

If you're looking for signs of upcoming deterioration in credit, a lot of people have been pointing toward subprime auto loans as a potential canary in the coal mine. Maybe it's a sign of more coming credit deterioration, but then again, maybe it's not. Right now, it doesn't feel like a big deal.

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Stock market smashing records
Leverage ratios across the street are insanely high

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This, however, is a big deal, and why I've been bearish the last couple of years. There are no strong signals that a market correction is coming anytime soon, but man, the spring is loaded for a gigantic crash sometime over the next several years. Something big is coming, I think, based on historical folly in overall global monetary policy. However, it could be a while before we see a trigger. Nobody knows the timing of it.

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I also think there could be a downswing sometime in the future. But until then the market could keep going up. Eventually though the market will be down at some point but will go back up sometime after that.

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Lol

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I also think there could be a downswing sometime in the future. But until then the market could keep going up. Eventually though the market will be down at some point but will go back up sometime after that

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While this can be taken as sarcasm or stating the obvious, it really is that simple. So what makes investing so difficult? Is it too many people trying to use the market for big short term gains? Fear that it will bottom out on the day before you retire? Too many trying to time the market? Too many speculators vs. investors? Too many who just panic and sell low despite the certainty that the market will always go back up? I’m just getting ready to jump into the market, but I’ll dollar cost average about a half million over the next dozen or so years, all in a target date or 3-fund portfolio. And I really have no major concerns.

ETA: For the record, the extent of my investment knowledge is zero investing experience and I once read the book “A Random Walk Down Wall Street.” But I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night...

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It wasn't all that long ago that a 3-year auto loan was the standard. Now, you regularly see cars being financed 5-8 years

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Well, cars last a lot longer than they used to as well, so it sort of makes sense. I always finance mine as long as they'll let me, but pay like it's only financed for 2-3 years. Obviously, not everyone does that.

Though I do agree that overall consumer debt is a major problem.

There was 72 month auto financing back in 1998 when I bought my first car. Long-term financing has been around for years.