Sure, but its done on average 9% the last 10 years and if you just invested in an S&p 500 etf you would have made a little over 13%. There are definitely down times but even if you started investing in January 2007 to ensure you caught the worst of the 2008 recession and just kept investing monthly for 7 years, your returns would be on average 12%. Of course all things end but historically and including now it works. Its a safer bet that you will get to a million in the stock market than putting your money in a bank where you are guaranteed to lose money each year with inflation.

Serious question, what's the alternative for a safer investment and having a real retirement? Everything booms and busts and then booms again (mostly).