Comment by StandardFuture | Hacker News Reader

Comment by StandardFuture | Hacker News Reader

Perhaps the only thing that actually happens is that bubbles pop (as they always have and always will) and all that remains is anything of substance? Many cryptocurrencies and stocks are garbage but quite a number of cryptocurrencies and stocks are backed by solid companies and technology.

A few greedy people get lucky and pull out of the bubble with returns. Most greedy people get burned by their get- rich-quick gambling.

This is not anything new or terrible. Of course, all of this craziness can be used to mask genuine scams or scamish-marketed "investments". Those are what the Feds need to chase and prosecute. There are plenty of cryptocurrencies (and inflated stock evaluations) that are genuine pump and dump scams. These pump and dumps really should be prosecuted harshly.

We really need to get over this idea that we can regulate away losses and negative outcomes of basic stupid human behavior simply because it seems like an ideal that we be able to do so.

I guess the counterpoint to this would be to say that it's policy, not human stupidity which has led to the bubble. By keeping the interest rate at almost zero for over a decade, the fed has incentivized dumping money in the market, since there's really nowhere else to put it. And dumping trillions into the economy in the past year has only added fuel to the fire.

It can be argued that trying to "regulate away losses and negative outcomes" is exactly what has been happening over the past decade.

> It can be argued that trying to "regulate away losses and negative outcomes" is exactly what has been happening over the past decade.

Yes, this is because we have been living in a boomer-retirement-fund driven crony capitalistic market for the past 2-3 decades.

Wall Street and politicians in bed doing whatever they can to squeeze the economy of every last drop (usually through regulations + consolidations) to put in the old peoples last-wishes/bucket-list fund.

We are a society that went from having too many impoverished elderly to having too many narcissistic and lavish elderly who have no idea what too even do with their 3 homes and 7 figures. Rich hippies, basically.

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