More Capitalism

 Tweet yesterday from Robert Reich

America's richest 1 percent now own half the value of the U.S. stock market. The richest 10 percent own 92 percent.

So when Trump says the stock market is the economy, know who he's really talking about. 

— Robert Reich (@RBReich) September 2, 2020

It is worth considering that when we talk about the stock market, it is not just the fat cats that have an interest in its performance. 32% of Americans have a 401(k), including, as of 2018, 58 million American workers. Generally 401(k)s and social security are the only sources of worker’s retirement income. In recent years, there has been a shift from traditional pension plans for workers, which provide a defined benefit for retirees, to defined contribution plans, where the employer makes a contribution to an employee’s 401(k). I oversaw such a shift for the City of Shelbyville. Employee’s retirement plan had been 2% of their average compensation; it was changed to a 7% employer contribution to their 401(k). Basically, the shift limits the employer’s retirement funding requirement to a fixed amount, and tells the employees to hope for the best - you're on your own. Thus, in addition to the top 1%, all these workers have an interest in an increasing stock market value.

I highly recommend Robert Reich’s movie ‘Inequality For All’ to everyone. You can see a crappy copied version on YouTube (look for “full movie”), or get the DVD from Netflix. On a personal note, in the early 80s I worked at the Federal Trade Commission when Bob did; not with him, but I knew him through elevator conversations.