Dow 30,000? No, Dow 3,000. A book written during boom times claimed the Dow was worth and would climb to 30,000 by 2008. The two academic researcher authors were fools caught up in boom times. In 1993 the Dow was around 3,000 – Why couldnt it return to that level? It could. People forget that in the early eighties the DJIA was around 1,000. When the DJIA went from 3,000 to 10,000 people didnt necessarily get rich, even if the index had gone from 10,000 to 30,000 most investors wouldnt get rich. Wealth in the stock market arises from betting on the strongest stocks in the best performing sectors, and from understanding what will move a particular stock. What investors forget is that if they didnt get rich during the bubble – when tech stocks were zooming to higher and higher prices based on a very positive market outlook, what makes these fools in the market believe hanging on in unfavorable market conditions will bring them wealth? If you didnt get rich in the stock market then, you missed the most favorable period, and youre better off putting your capital to work someplace else. When enough investors feel that way, or when perception adjusts well see if the DJIA returns to where it was in 1993 to 1994 at 3,000 to 4,000.