Financial history shows that the American Dream is alive and achievable

Joseph S. Moore, author of "How to Get Rich in American History: 300 Years of Financial Advice That Worked (& Didn't)," says that America is dealing with "Big Woe" (as in "Woe is me"), but that examining the past makes it clear that "The American Dream is alive and well." Moore points out that what people think is unique today has all been played out in the past, comparing cryptocurrency to the thousands of self-issued currencies that existed before the start of the Civil War, prediction markets to the "bucket shops" of the 1800s and more, but he also notes that the advice that people think "always works" has not actually proven that if you look throughout financial history. "The dynamic, changing economy we live in is evolving," he says, "so hopefully we can learn something from the past to better understand where we are in the present." Kelley Wright, editor at Investment Quality Trends — now celebrating its 60th year, making it one of the longest-running investment newsletters — brings his dividend-with-value focus to the Market Call. Plus, in the ETF of the Week, Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, examines a unique Treasury-focused fund as a way to ride out current rate swings while goosing yields in the ultra-safe portion of your portfolio.