The 40,000 Dow will certainly be a moment to mark. The Dow Jones Average has soared nearly 30 percent since President Biden took office in 2021, when it was 31,188. The Democrats are doing their best to chalk this up to the Biden economy as the election campaign swings into the home stretch, with investors full of optimism. If stocks are so all-fired hot, though, why do so many millions of Americans feel uneasy?

Our own theory is that the soaring stock prices are a feature of fiat money. When stocks are priced in the classical measure of monetary value — gold —it turns out that the stock market has dropped. Four years ago, the value of the Dow in gold was 16.67 ounces. As of Friday, the value of the Dow was at 16.57 ounces — a nearly 1 percent decline, and a number far less optimistic than a Dow Jones index that is up 30 percent would suggest.