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Most people in this country don't hold stocks, are too far in debt or in jobs where they don't have access to a pension fund or something like that to be directly impacted by the stock market, whether it is going up or down.
If Americans have wealth at all, it is invested in their homes, but, through loans or mortgages. This may still not translate into any "positive" wealth, i.e., they may be in debt or "under water," where they owe more than they own.
This means the stock market is more a reflection of the wealth of the wealthy. Poor & low-income people are indirectly impacted by it, as the wealthy make decisions on their different sources of wealth (investments, firms/businesses they own, etc.) that affect the rest of us.
Even though the impact is indirect, it's still deeply felt, esp. when it means layoffs or cuts to benefits or wages, etc., which is often what happens when the wealthy make gains in the stock market.
See the #PoorPeoplesCampaign Audit for more on this: https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/resource/the-souls-of-poor-folk-audit/
See the #PoorPeoplesCampaign Audit for more on this: https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/resource/the-souls-of-poor-folk-audit/
From Sarah Anderson @IPS_DC:
1) The rich are using the bulk of their money for short-term gambling on Wall Street rather than long-term investments that could help create good jobs and reduce poverty. The richest 1% holds more than half of all stocks and mutual funds.
1) The rich are using the bulk of their money for short-term gambling on Wall Street rather than long-term investments that could help create good jobs and reduce poverty. The richest 1% holds more than half of all stocks and mutual funds.
2) The wealthy pay a lower tax rate on income from investments than on income from work, leaving even fewer resources for public investment in job creation and poverty reduction.
3) The rich have rigged the rules so public policies & corporate behavior are focused on maximizing stock prices to reward wealthy executives & shareholders instead of creating good jobs. One result of this is skyrocketing CEO pay while wages stagnate, even as productivity rises.
4) This yr the disconnect b/t the stock market & ordinary ppl’s lives is more clear than ever, with a rising stock market in the midst of sky-high unemployment & historic public health crisis, resulting in U.S. billionaires actually expanding their fortunes while millions suffer.
Thank you @ShaillyBarnes @Kairos_Center for the research on this.
