This is not a wall Street bail out. This is a main Street bail out. Every American's life savings is in the stock market... Don't conflate the two please.
"Even when you consider indirect ownership via 401(k) retirement accounts and similar vehicles, fewer than half of American households own any stock at all."
Nope, sorry - this is literally an injection of cash into Wall Street. Political spin can do massively crazy things but this particular injection is specifically going straight into Wall Street - saying otherwise is extremely disingenuous.
Just plain wrong. There are financial markets (stock, bond markets, etc..) and there are financial market companies that operate in that market. The two are distinct.
This is analogous to: oil in the ground (the financial market) and companies like Exxon and Chevron (financial market companies).
The financial markets are connected to every aspect of the "average" American's life. 65%+ of working-age Americans are invested in some way through the markets - either a brokerage account or a retirement account (401k, IRA, defined benefit plan, etc...).
So if the US Government steps in to stabilize the markets with an injection of capital, yes, you can argue ad infinitum that this helps the Goldman Sachs of the world. But guess what, financial market companies love volatility. That's when the real money is made. So sure, theyll make money on the way up, but they will also make plenty of money on the way down as well.
An injection of capital into the markets helps the average American. It brings stability to people's nest eggs and retirement funds. It puts a floor on panic selling.
There's nothing disingenuous in my distinction of financial markets vs financial market companies. I a merely pointing out that the market is way more complex and interconnected than is being portrayed in this thread.
>Every American's life savings is in the stock market
First, you are exaggerating. Secondly, why is this a good thing? Maybe the whole damn world should re-evaluate this.
99% of people are not "investing", they are throwing money in something that should magically keep going up over time because everyone wants it to magically go up over time.
This isn't about the stock market, it's about the banking system and bond market. A side effect is the market feeling better that the banking system isn't going to collapse. However, the market will do whatever it does, this move wasn't about the stock market.
I've commented to this effect maybe 4 times now, does no one remember 2008/2009? Does no one remember the credit markets freezing? Forget about the stock market, it's child play compared to what would unfold.