HFT in My Backyard (2014)

Re:HFT in My Backyard (2014) by tehjoker on Thursday June 04, 2020 @09:28PM (#23424097)

You can have a financial system without a stock market. It would be constituted with public banks or various kinds of credit unions. The reason I cited retirement plans is that is the most sympathetic argument I could think of for caring about the stock market going up. Only ~20% of Americans own stocks, so it going up basically just enriches 1/5th of the population at the expense of the rest.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:HFT in My Backyard (2014) by yellowstuff on Thursday June 04, 2020 @09:53PM (#23424218)

You can imagine a successful financial system without a stock market if you don't know much about financial systems, in the same way that you can imagine a jet flying without wings if you don't know much about aerodynamics.

I believe that the rise of importance of finance has been a net good for humanity, but I know that's an unpopular opinion and I've seen good arguments that it's a net harm. But I don't think you can make a reasonable argument that we could have a modern world anything like the current one without stock markets. Banks and credit unions don't, can't and shouldn't provide the kind of funding that equity markets do.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:HFT in My Backyard (2014) by harryh on Thursday June 04, 2020 @09:50PM (#23424207)

You can have a financial system without a stock market. It would be constituted with public banks or various kinds of credit unions.

Not really. A financial system that only consisted of debt and not equity would not be able to support anything like our current economy. We would all be much poorer for it. Loans are simply not suitable for a huge variety of financial risks.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:HFT in My Backyard (2014) by numpad0 on Friday June 05, 2020 @12:12AM (#23425005)

Soviet Union existed, and literally failed to put some bread on the table

https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/bayarea/news/amp/When-Bor...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:HFT in My Backyard (2014) by tehjoker on Friday June 05, 2020 @03:28PM (#23432791)

It failed due to both internal and external problems. The proximal cause of death was running out of foreign currency.

Did you notice the breadlines in the US earlier this year?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:HFT in My Backyard (2014) by nv-vn on Thursday June 04, 2020 @10:26PM (#23424405)

This says 55% https://news.gallup.com/poll/266807/percentage-americans-own...

[ Parent | on HN ]