I had a couple of questions from readers on why I believe the stock market relates to the likelihood the Park City school bond will pass.

Here is why I think it may be one of the biggest factors in this year’s election:

Yesterday the stock market (i.e., the S&P 500) lost about 2% of its value. So, if you had $100,000 in your retirement account, your brokerage account, etc… at the end of the day you had $98,000. Today, as of this post, the market is down another 2%. Now you have $96,000 in your account. Overall, the market is down about 9% from its highs a few months ago. So, if you had $100,000 at the high… now you have $91,000.

If this trend continues for the next couple of months, a 20% drop from highs isn’t out of the question by election day. Your $100,000 is now $80,000. People haven’t seen losses like that in a long time. If that is then compounded by the dreaded R word (recession), they’ll hear about it every night on the nightly news.

It’s one thing to spend $56 million when you’re living high on the hog. It’s another thing when you’ve lost 20% of your retirement savings and you are wondering about the future of your job.

That’s why I think the stock market matters.

Moe Hickey, if you know Janet Yellen, you should probably give her a call.