It’s been interesting lately. For some reason pundits have decided that the one measure of the job someone is doing happens to be the Dow. Which is kind of silly. Even as a measure of the economy, I’m not sure how much credence we should lend the Dow. After all, it is a reflection about how Wall Street feels. And, quite frankly, I’m wondering if Wall Street is a little upset that instead of focusing mainly on big firms, Obama seems determined to do something for the middle class as well. Sure, he’s still throwing money at the banks. But in smaller amounts, and he’s tossing a few bones to the rest of us as well.
Another thing the stock market doesn’t like right now: The acknowledgment that things aren’t going to magically get better immediately. Obama has been saying this for quite some time. Perhaps the reason his approval rating is relatively high amongst the rest of us (60%) is due to the fact that the man is actually telling it like it is. There is no quick fix to our economic problems. But Wall Street doesn’t want to hear that. Wall Street wants to hear that government coffers will continue to be open the big guys, and that loads of taxpayer money will be at their disposal to try to turn things around quickly.
Helping forestall foreclosure and putting money into infrastructure and into education will help things in the long term. Sadly, Wall Street is all about the short term. Wall Street doesn’t care about the long term. Obama at least seems to be trying (whether you think he’s right or not) to do what he thinks is best for the long term. So maybe it’s not the end of the world that Wall Street doesn’t approve.
I think Jon Stewart is spot on.
What do you think? Should Obama be judged by the performance of the Dow?