That's a good way to look at it. I can certainly see the government as a tool for the ones who actually hold power to use to flex their muscles, so to speak. But re: the ETF, you mean it is an indicator of movement/change but hides the details? When they say the s&p is up/down, there is more to it?
This is a long topic, but I'll condense it down to ETFs and derivatives are bets. The market going up/down is meaningless and mostly reflects HFT algorithms moving capital from some instruments to different instruments. In short, they're only seeking short term gains. The general market can only go in one direction and that is up. This is because (((central banks))) essentially counterfeit currency at a high rate. All this new currency needs to be laundered somewhere...AND that usually is stocks. This is why the market generally only goes up. If you pay attention to the financial whores like Jim Cramer, you'll hear them predict markets going down because of the China Flu or unemployment or whatever. But it continues up. The stock market is completely disconnected from reality because there is so much capital doing nothing. Capital is no longer being used for producing goods and services. Instead (((hedge funds))) use it to make bets. Take a look at GME. That stock was bet on both sides by multiple (((hedge funds))) one side was shorting it while the other side was trying to squeeze the shorts. Now this is not investing, but betting.
I could go on, but I hope this answers your questions.
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