The stock market is tumbling again as I type, though I have no idea exactly why it is dropping... just as I had little idea of why it went up so much over the past year or so. We have some money in the market, mostly through TIAA, and I know it's not healthy to watch the numbers each day.
Nevertheless, it's disconcerting to know that, for instance, a 529 account we have for our oldest grandchild has plunged in value by over 20 percent since the start of the year. The total is small potatoes in the big picture but small potatoes is where we are.
I see that about $3 trillion in retirement savings have been wiped out this year alone, and simply wonder where that money went. I suspect it was never there, since the entire system is based on faith and promises, but that's a lot of potential money that is not available..
The biggest surprise is that everyone is so upset by the chaos and the inflation and the supply chain issues and corporate greed. Between the pandemic and a shooting war and all the traditional American problems, from racism to sexism to guns, wouldn't the real surprise be if financial markets continued to grow?
I read all the time that the stock market has little connection to the overall economy and that may be true... but since I never really understood the entire enterprise, I will have to take some "experts'" opinions on this.
Things "feel" weird in America and across the globe right now, and that weird feeling looks like it will be sticking around for some time.
The ultra rich will continue to accumulate more and more wealth and everyone else will struggle or at least feel uneasy. Everyone else fixates on gas prices and eye-popping airfare. Oh, and the price of basic food and shelter.
No wonder everyone predicts that Republicans will have a field day this coming November. When things aren't going well on any number of fronts, it's rational for voters to simply "throw the bastards out" in favor of some new bastards. The country seems to do this quite regularly.
Voting, for many, boils down to employing what small amount of power an individual holds in this vast, complex world. Punishing people who just happen to be in office when things bother us the most? It may have no effect but there is a short rush of exhilaration in simply saying "no," loudly and clearly.
Of course, for every voter who wants to take frustrations over high gas prices out on whoever is in office, there is another voter who can't stand some cultural or personal issue, like tossing Roe v Wade or being forced to tolerate a Supreme Court justice whose wife is a traitor to democracy.
I also know that things need to get very bad indeed for fundamental change to occur. If so, maybe there's some comfort in knowing that we haven't reached bottom in terms of political and cultural battles.
Might as well enjoy the ride.
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