Unless you are living in a cave, you probably know that the Dow had a big day today. In fact, in was the biggest point gain, by far, in its history.

However, in terms of percentage gain, it was "only" the fifth best day. You know when the top four days happened? In order, in 1933, 1931, 1929, and 1932. Yes, during and just before the Great Depression. Also, 13 of the top 15 biggest-gaining days were in the same time period. See this Wikipedia chart for detail.

Does the recent volatility mean we are headed that way again? Not necessarily; there are too many confounding factors to make any precise analogies. But remember that US consumer spending is about 70% of US GDP and about 18% of world GDP. Do you think the US consumer is about tapped out? Me too.

But they are not going away totally. A large segment of the baby boom generation still has vast untapped wealth and they will still want nice things and luxuries as they retire. Just something to think about.