The Cantillon effect causes stock market record highs to coexist with middle-class financial deterioration because new Fed money reaches wealthy asset holders first before trickling down with diminished value

"The new money created by the Fed does not reach everyone at the same time. It flows first to those closest to the printing press – the big banks, the hedge funds, the elite. By the time it trickles down to you, its purchasing power has been sucked dry. That is the Cantillon effect. It explains why the stock market can hit record highs while most Americans struggle to afford rent."