JH: David, you detailed very, very well how we are constantly being ripped off. It’s a death of 1,000 cuts. Why is that? The story that we’ve gotten, for years and years and years, is that we have less regulation in order to spur competition. Ultimately, that competition was supposed to benefit consumers. What’s going wrong?
DCJ: I want more competition. Here’s what really goes on, however. We put up barriers to competition, and in fact, Wall Street has institutionalized this concept. Morningstar, they’re a big financial advice firm. They tell people that they should grade companies and decide whether to buy their stock, based on something called a “moat index.” Moat, like around a castle? A moat index asks, “What barriers has the government erected to keep anybody else from competing against that company?” Indeed, as I show in my book, you could get rich if you invest in those companies that have regulatory moats — where under the name of deregulation, we have insulated them from the rigors of the market.
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Unfortunately, what we have today is faux capitalism!
The “regulators” are in bed with that which they are supposed to “regulate”.
FDA and Big Pharma is the classic example.
The SEC, FTC, OCC, and all the other bureaucrats are a revolving door with Wall Street.
And, the politicians are like the whorehouse Madam!
Argh!
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“It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link of the chain of destiny can be handled at a time.”- Winston Churchill
