[Pollster1]

But has the true value shrunk by something close to 8% per year, with that decline hidden by federal dollars pumped into the market?

[CodeToad]

There is no common “true value”. The value is whatever someone is willing to pay for it.

The truest value of a company stock is number f shares divided into whatever the company can be sold for. That hasn’t been 1 or less of a divisor in over 100 years.