It's time to stop equating the stock market with "the economy." Wall Street's coming off a great month, at the same time unemployment is at a record high. They're different!

I began my career on Wall Street. Here's how differently they see the world from everyone else: (1/7)

The stock market doesn't care about workers' wages or jobs. It measures the value of the equity (stock) in companies - what's left over from sales after a company pays its workers, operating expenses & debts. The leftover dollars go to the owners & are called "equity." (2/7)

Think about the incentives here. In a narrow-minded, short-term view, the more work the company can get from workers for the same or lower wages, the more that's leftover to equity. *This* is what the stock market measures. It's not about how American workers are doing. (3/7)

So, equity (stock) prices will very often rise as workers make relatively *less* money - because equity or stock prices measure what’s left over for owners, NOT how *workers* are doing. And stock prices don't measure the economy, but the financial health of stock owners. (4/7)

It wasn't always this way. Workers used to own stocks/equity through pensions. So they, too, would benefit from rising stock prices. But a smaller % of workers own stocks than ever before. Now, 84% of all stocks owned by Americans belong to the wealthiest 10% of households. (5/7)

Ironically, the greedy logic that paying workers less money means more equity for owners, is foolish in the long term. Ultimately, when workers are paid more, that means they have more money to spend (while workers with less money means companies will generate less sales). (6/7)

So the stock market may reward companies that short-change workers. But the stock market does NOT measure the economy.

The best thing for the economy? Pay workers a living wage, which means they can buy things, which means more revenue & equity. That way, everyone wins. (/END.)