General Discussion

"the stock market". They have never been the same thing, even when the stock market was a mostly sane., rational place as envisioned by Adam Smith.

And in today's world, the stock market is highly irrational. That is to say, most stocks are still valued based on performance expectations. But the "Mag 7" are all phantasmagorical story stocks loaded with hype, sleaze, insider trading and outright theft. The Mag 7 (just 7 companies out of 500) represent almost 40% of the S&P 500 capitalization, but only 20% of the actual profits made by S&P 500 companies. This is a gross distortion of the markets beyond anything ever seen.

Moreover, 40% of Americans have no contact with the stock markets, and the 60% who do include many with relatively small positions. For them, "the economy" is all about good jobs and low prices for the things they have to buy.