We definitely need to get away from this whole stock market/the dow as a measure of the economy [View all]

I'm going to credit my friend and colleague, ashliy, with this idea. She does not post here, but there will be a link to something where she does at some point in the near future.

Paraphrasing her, we need to get away from using billionaires and the stock market as a way of seeing how the economy is doing.

Instead, let's ask formally and with gut checks...

How many bankruptcies are going on right now?
How many bankruptcies from medical bills are going on right now?
How lucrative is it to be a debt buyer or a debt collector right now?
How lucrative is it to be a repossession agent right now?
How many evictions are going on right now?
How many foreclosures are going on right now?
How many of us are afraid to call for an ambulance right now?
How many of us are putting off getting medical care or therapy not because of anxiety but because of cost right now?
How many people are getting their wages garnished right now?

Look at those questions above - What we need to do is realize that the more of these there are, the greater the answer to them... the worse the economy is.

We must come to see a "strong economy" or a "great economy" is simply not compatible with "record-high evictions" or "more people are being hounded by debt collectors over medical bills" at the same time.