Wall Street is Not The Economy

Economics 101, via TAP:

People say that economics is complicated. But it sure looks simple to me. After all, what's so complicated about a sector that can be represented in a single arrow? Up for good, down for bad. And if that weren't easy enough, we've got green for good, and red for bad. It's child's play. It even looks like a toy I played with as a child. The green arrow made a cow moo, as I remember.

Looks, however, can be deceiving. And so it is with the ubiquitous stock ticker arrow that increasingly serves as a stand-in for broad economic data. More and more, the arrow is all that's discussed -- did stocks rise or did they fall? -- as if the movement of the market were synonymous with the fortunes of the economy.

I am not an expert when it comes to economics (that's Craig's job here), but I remember enough to know that most people are duped into thinking several consecutive green arrow days means a booming, healthy economy.

Things were pretty green-arrow-ey in the lead up to the depression.