Rebounds from recessions have grown weaker and weaker since the U.S. embarked on its epic debt binge in the 1980s and "started borrowing and giving it to the rich guys," Gundlach contended, adding that borrowing and squandering might be a better term. "Property relations really aren't working. No wonder we can't get along."

In such an uncertain world, Gundlach believes investors can be successful if they can position their portfolios for several different scenarios. Those scenarios include inflation, deflation, continued anemic growth and a global financial crisis.

Lenin was only one of two leaders of the late Soviet Union to graduate from a university and Mauldin began his talk by citing his remark that there are "decades when nothing happens and weeks when decades happen." In 2001, for example, the euro enjoyed a successful debut within months of the September 11 attacks and China's admission to the World Trade Organization. All three events are still profoundly affecting our lives today.

Mauldin's focus was on the endgame of a 30-year debt super cycle and the resolution of the debt crisis and the chronic federal budget deficit in America. "If we [the U.S.] can get through the deficit crisis, we can still be the biggest, baddest dude on the block," he said.

In contrast, Europe is "screwed." Mauldin believes the continent faces nothing but downside. "We have a choice with potential upside," he contended.

Mauldin believes that the upcoming presidential election will be the most important since 1980. The challenge is whether the U.S. adopts a European-style program that reduces market-oriented incentives or embraces a pro-growth agenda. "Both views have their detractors," he noted. "I'm pro-market, but I get that there are unequal outcomes and not everyone gets treated fairly."

But the issue of fairness cuts many ways. "We've told an entire generation that if they get an education, they'll get a job," Mauldin, a father of seven, remarked. "I lied to them."

What many unemployed young people around the world are discovering is that they need a skill, not an education. When you hear businessmen saying they can't find employees, what they mean is they can't find workers with the right skill sets. Why can't we allow businesses to hire young people for $4 an hour to let companies train them?

Looking at the audience of advisors, Mauldin said, "You are old. You should retire. But 3.4 million jobs since the recession have gone to baby boomers taking jobs from younger people."

Coming at the same problem from a different angle than Gundlach, Mauldin argued we are getting ready to rewrite the social contract in America. Citizens who still believe they will get the same Social Security, Medicare and pensions their parents received are deluding themselves.