The Economy Is Not the Stock Market

The meme here comes from former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich.  What does it mean?

Well, at a minimum, it shows that the stock market and the financial well-being of the common American have absolutely no bearing on one another.  What’s good for the top 1% has essentially nothing to do with the quality of life for the working class.

It’s an example of cognitive bias, i.e., we tend to look for data that confirms what we already believe.  In this case, Trump supporters were pointing to the rising Dow as evidence of the “strength of the economy,” to prove that their hero was an excellent leader.  What they failed to understand is that they personally were not doing better at all, even though the rich were getting richer at an unprecedented rate.