Theories trying to explain the market are not reliably predictive. The stock market is only loosely tied to GDP and is not a measure of citizen welfare. I think stock valuation and dividends as a corporate focus are a key reason that wages have not kept up with inflation.

Would like to read/listen to more about this. Can you post more or point me in the right direction?

This guy is good, although he mostly points out the problems and is short on solutions. m.youtube.com/@RichardJMur...