Is the stock market just a glittery object at this point?

[CoffeeCat]

The stock market is important.

However, the stock market is becoming a glittering sideshow in motion, distracting
from the bigger picture--that there are major systemic problems with our economy that
are completely unsustainable.

The stock market numbers are just one symptom of a rumbling economy that stands on very shaky ground.

The United States economy has been propped up and inflated with borrowed dollars. We've
rented the dollars that have fueled the past two decades of growth. People using
credit cards and taking out home-equity loans pumped up our economy. However,
that hot air is unsustainable. You can't spend like this forever.

Now, credit cards are maxed out. Those home-equity loans are very hard to get.
People are now desperate, in "savings" and "paying off" modes. Furthermore, the
housing boom is no longer fueling the economy. This means fewer dollars in the system,
and the slow contraction of demand--for nearly everything! The consumption bubble--that has provided
a false sense of prosperity and economic health--is rapidly shrinking.

Emotion is driving the stock market roller coaster right now. However, rock-hard
market forces are shifting our entire economy--like deep fault lines that have finally
begun to give way.

The media hyper focuses on the stock market--and they barely mention the credit
freeze or how the "credit card" economy is about to implode.

I worry about people who spend their days worried or gleeful--due to stock market
movements. It's not about the stock market. It's about the entire economy
and the tectonic shifts that will forever change our economy.

It feels like our country is experiencing a major earthquake that rumbles sometimes and
quiets sometimes. However, people are not focused on the cause of the earthquake or what
lies underneath the entire system. They're all looking at the stock market--which is like
the equivalent of a glittery, pretty sign in Las Vegas that is constantly affected by
the earthquake. Yes, sometimes it moves and sways when the quakes come. Yes, it is an
indicator of the seriousness of the quake. However, it is only one factor.

The real story is about the shaky ground upon which that sign sits, and the major economic
earthquake that will continue to rumble and forever change the landscape of our economy--forcing
our economy to shift from a consumption/credit-card-based model, to a savings/responsible-spending
model.

[deaniac21]

1. Your economic understanding is like a bright light on the

horizon.