I don't care what's written about the stock market. I'm a strong believer in American business making a profit.
I own a good number of shares in the stock of my former employer, a large American manufacturer. The stock hit a high in 07/2007, a low in 03/2009, and a new high this year. If I ignore the intervening years, I have earned an 11% annual compound return for the seven years from 2007 until now.
My husband owns a good number of shares in the stock of his employer, another even larger American manufacturer. That stock hit a high in 05/2008 before it dropped, then recovered to a new high this year. For his stock, it's a 7% annual compound return for the six years from 2008 until now.
You don't invest in the stock market for the short term. I know a lot of people state that values are artificially high right now. But I don't know of a better place for our money right now.
Just my 2 cents.
Your buy and hold strategy is very sound. The only thing I would consider is some diversification. Anything can happen to one company, remember all those people that had their money in that wonderful company they worked for — Enron.