“The Market” vs “The Economy”

ByHeather

With all the volatility in the stock market lately it is a good time to remind ourselves that “the market” is not the same as “the economy.” The best that I can tell — at least as of the last few years — “the market” has contracted to a relatively small group of:

  • professional traders
  • automated computer programs
  • institutional investors
  • hedge fund managers

This tight-knit circle trades amongst itself with very little relevance to what we think of as “the economy.” In contrast to this closed group, the economy is the vast sum of the creation and delivery of the goods and services we want and need.

It seems to me that the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 bears little connection to these things these days.

Don’t be afraid. Now is the time to be bold. If you don’t like the economy, let’s go out and make one of our own.

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