It just speaks to the fact that the tail wags the dog at this point. Rising asset prices, in an economy which has had stagnant wage growth over many years, become a de-facto stimulus for SOME consumers. So long as your average boomer's portfolio rises faster than inflation, there is little public outcry about the reckless policies of the Federal Reserve and US Gov. The snag in the formula has been the failure of the central planners to effectively stem the tide of housing prices from dropping in price. Make no mistake, they slowed the rate of descent, nevertheless it's still had a marked effect on consumer sentiment. I believe it's one of a number of reasons why rigging the market higher has had little positive correlation to approval ratings for this administration. Contrast that to the late 90s and the positive effects of goosing the market higher with the first administration that I felt made it a policy to do everything in their power to goose asset prices.