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From Wall Street to Our Street
It’s time for the story of wealth production to change its address
I have many talents, though drawing clearly isn’t one of them, lol.
However, what I lack in artistic refinement, I make up for in meaning.
For decades, Wall Street has been pushing us to accept it as an accurate barometer of how the American economy is faring. It’s become glaringly evident in this time of Covid that not only is that not true today, but that it hasn’t been true in my lifetime, and, likely has never been true at all.
“Wall Street has very little to do with Main Street,” said Joachim Klement, a market analyst at Liberum Capital in London. “And less and less so.”
Still, the market retains its grip on the collective imagination. From politicians and corporate executives to mom-and-pop investors, Americans have long relied on the stock market as a proxy for the U.S. economy — for reasons that are partly historical. Its crests suggested bright days ahead, while its troughs suggested a darkening outlook. The current economic fallout, however, could snap any illusions that the logic of the market is derived, in any consistent way, from real-world events. ~ Repeat After Me: The Markets Are Not the Economy
