Investors need to look beyond the noise and alarm bells heralding the arrival of the fiscal cliff and buy and hold stocks for the long term, as the United States represents a good investment, said John C. "Jack" Bogle, founder of the Vanguard Group.

The White House and Congressional Republicans continue to negotiate ways to avoid the fiscal cliff, a combination of tax hikes and deep government spending cuts due to kick in simultaneously at the end of this year.

Failure to avoid the fiscal cliff could tip the U.S. economy into a recession next year, and market participants are worried stocks could roil in the meantime over uncertainty.

Editor's Note: Prophetic Economist Warns: “It’s Curtains for America.” See Evidence.

"If you can discipline yourself as an investor, don't pay a lot of attention to the short-term noise and focus on the long term," Bogle told CNBC.

Don't try and beat the market but rather, buy index funds that move in line with the market, Bogle advised.

Buying and selling stocks in an effort to beat the market exposes investors to fees and commissions that eat into returns anyway.

"I'd say own the entire U.S. stock market, or if you wish, with some seasoning from the emerging markets or the developed markets of the world. Own the market, if you will," Bogle said.

"Because that way you know you will capture almost all the market's return. You will not capture the market's return if you trade with one another because of that hump taken out of your capital by Wall Street."

Congressional Republicans and President Barack Obama have conducted closed-door talks to find a way to avoid the cliff, and the silence up to now has frayed nerves to a degree.

"As has been the case since the elections, the main issue affecting U.S. markets remains the fiscal cliff," said Russ Koesterich, global chief investment strategist at BlackRock, according to CNNMoney.

"Although it is impossible to know exactly what is going on behind closed doors, on the surface, the two parties still seem quite far apart on the three main fiscal cliff issues."

Editor's Note: Prophetic Economist Warns: “It’s Curtains for America.” See Evidence.