Unlucky numbers

The media is filled with joyous stories about the Dow topping 13,000 yesterday. One headline even reads: "Rally, Romp and Rejoicing." We are conditioned to believe that a rising stock market equals a strong economy -- something good for all of us, right? -- but that is far from the truth.

When media and government say "the economy," they are generally referring to the wallets of the wealthy. When the economy is booming -- using the stock market's leading index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, as a bellwether -- then corprate executives, lobbyists, bank owners, oil tycoons and their friends are gorging themselves at the trough.

Meanwhile, wages for working men and women -- after being adjusted for inflation -- are falling. As usual, the average person has to struggle to make ends meet. The market's rise is no reason for us to celebrate.