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By C.J. Atkins
For years, Trump has been telling us that when the stock market soars, the economy booms for us all. Whenever the Dow Jones or the S&P 500 hit a new high, we’ve been expected to clap and cheer for the latest proof that America is “great again.” On such occasions, the president has regularly tweeted, “Congratulations USA!”, as if we were all on the way to the bank with our stock dividend checks.
But if you ever suspected that those who live off the stock market inhabit a different economy than the rest of us, this week provided plenty of evidence to confirm it.
On Thursday, as the number of unemployed claims added to their record-shattering tally—33 million since the pandemic started—the NASDAQ Composite actually turned positive for 2020. This means that the index—which is dominated by big tech firms like Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Google (Alphabet), Amazon, and Netflix—is higher now than it was back at the beginning of January before the economic shutdown started.
In fact, since March 23—a time when the rest of America started receiving pink slips—these six giants have seen their share prices rise dramatically. Leading the pack is Facebook, whose shares have added 41%, while Netflix brings up the rear with a 20% increase. Those gains add up to billions in new value, which has made a lot of already rich people a lot richer.
How does that make sense? How is so much money being made by some on Wall Street when tens of millions of working people have no jobs and can’t pay the rent and bills, buy food, or afford health insurance? When workplaces are shut down and some companies are declaring bankruptcy, how is it possible that the lords of high finance are raking in the cash?...
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