(Image is from stockmarketshareprices.net.)There was a time when the stock market was an indicator of how healthy the economy of the country was. That was because as the stock market rose, companies used the new money to expand and to hire new workers (or create new products -- which also spurred the economy on and created new jobs). Unfortunately, that is no longer true.
Today, the buying and selling of stocks is not so much a way to create new jobs and products, as it is to just enrich investors and company executives with a short-term gain. Short-term gain is what today's market is all about, making the market little more than a gambling den for the rich. A gambling den that has little to no effect on the economy at large.
This was proven again on Thursday, as both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 both reached record territory in value. And while the NASDAQ didn't reach that same mark, it did log it's highest mark since the Clinton administration (in September 2000). The financial titans of Wall Street are doing great, and the recession is just a distant memory for them.
Sadly, the same cannot be said for the rest of the country. While Wall Street flourishes, Main Street continues to remain mired in the effects of the recession. Unemployment is still at 7.6% (and has been stuck there for several months, as countless millions of people are still without jobs (or any hope of getting one soon). The need for poverty and SNAP (food stamps) programs continue to grow (even as Congress provides less money for them. And too many of the few jobs being created are low-wage no-benefit jobs that really provide no future for those forced to accept them. And the median wage for workers has dropped, as about half of the U.S. population lives below 150% of the poverty line (which means they are only a paycheck or two away from falling into poverty).
The top 10%, and especially the top 1% in the United States are doing great. They are getting richer than ever before. But the bottom 90% of all Americans are in trouble, and things contain to just get worse -- not better. And Congress doesn't seem to care. They have imposed a serious austerity program, which is just now starting to kick in strongly and affect the economy (and not in a good way). This is taking money out of the economy, and depressing demand -- which will also have a depressing effect on job creation.
I feel like I should be celebrating the record highs of the stock market, but I just can't. Because I live in Main Street America -- and the stock market no longer has anything to do with us denizens of Main Street.
