Fasten your seat belts. If economist Barry Asmus is correct, the American economy is poised for a period of unprecedented economic prosperity. The author of Bulls Don’t Sleep and Bears Don’t Die was the keynote speaker at the RV Industry Association’s annual meeting Sept. 23 in Dana Point, Calif.

In fact, Asmus said the next few years will see a strong business expansion. The second quarter of 2006 alone grew by 3 percent. “During the Reagan years, we averaged 3.4 percent annual growth. In the Clinton years, we averaged 3.6 percent. I think it’s possible we’ll see 12 quarters with four percent growth,” he said.

Asmus offered six key points to consider in comparing the American economy to the rest of the world.

1. Demographics

There are 75 million people between the ages of 40 and 60. They are in the high-productive, high-consumption, high-investment stages of their lives, said Asmus. “There is almost no other country in the world with these demographics,” he added. “And that demographic feeds directly into a successful future for the RV industry.”

2. Population growth

In the next 30 years, America’s population will increase by 60 million people to 360 million. That’s exceptional growth contrasted to Western Europe which is in the process of committing demographic suicide.

“For the past 30 years, Western Europe has not replaced itself. They are in the middle of a population implosion bigger than the Black Plague of the 14th Century,” said Asmus. “They have nothing to live for. There is no God in Europe, no transcendence to live for.”

Europe has spent little on building a military to the point most countries no longer have the capacity to protect themselves. “When you don’t have a hammer, you don’t want anything that looks like a nail,” said Asmus. “Their economic power is so socialized it’s almost dysfunctional.”