Why are markets booming?

And why are most of us still poor?

This is not a bleeding heart liberal rant. I’m thinking out loud in search of understanding.

It doesn’t feel like boom times does it? Most people are working hard — if they are working — just to keep their nostrils above the water. Many people are not working and that feels even worse, stimulus check and unemployment check aside, as these are temporary band aids. Pay raises are not happening. Job change is risky as the number of applicants per open job is scary enough to keep you in your current job for the time being. Many people are under-employed, have slipped down from a better situation and never got back up to their old perch. No benefits, no vacation pay, horrible shifts, idiot supervisor, soul destroying job that was never in the plan, you’re overqualified for this job but you can’t get a job like the one you used to have.

Meanwhile, in Betterland: house prices are going up. The Better family are smiling. They both work in tech, one in a new job that pays great, way better than the last job. The other has been in this job 3 years and the company just went public a few months ago. You’re sitting on a million dollars in stock. You’re looking into borrowing against it and using the money for a downpayment on a second home, then move into it and keep the current house as a rental…