Yes, stocks can go down and stay down, but in relation to what? Japan's stock bubble gets rolled out time and time again as a cautionary tale against assuming stocks will rise in the long term. In reality, it's as much a story of currency. You'll read something blood-curdling like this: "the Nikkei 225 [22,977.13 on 2 Nov 2020] is still 70% below its peak [38915.87 on 29 Dec 1989] after 30 years!" 🙄 [Eye Roll]
I try to write something smart twice a month.