The movie “The Final Countdown” ends with the folks who got left behind in time showing up in a limousine. There are many other examples of time travelers using their fore-knowledge to quietly make it rich,
Are the guilty of insider trading? Are their actions a tax on all other traders?
We value success. We use money as a gauge of success. Often we fail to look closely at whether that gauge is sufficient.
Our hidden time traveler is doing nothing to advance society. His wealth is acquired in a zero sum game. He is actually taking from someone else. He is a tax on others. But people watching he movie just let it go. Superficially, he was a good guy so he deserves a reward.
If you hear that someone is successful at day trading, do they get a pass also? How does day trading do anything but tax other traders?
If a stock broker is successful at making his clients wealthier, does that really make up for the fact that it is at the expense of some less proficient (or less lucky) broker and his clients?
The movie “The Final Countdown” ends with the folks who got left behind in time showing up in a limousine. There are many other examples of time travelers using their fore-knowledge to quietly make it rich,
Are the guilty of insider trading? Are their actions a tax on all other traders?
We value success. We use money as a gauge of success. Often we fail to look closely at whether that gauge is sufficient.
Our hidden time traveler is doing nothing to advance society. His wealth is acquired in a zero sum game. He is actually taking from someone else. He is a tax on others. But people watching he movie just let it go. Superficially, he was a good guy so he deserves a reward.
If you hear that someone is successful at day trading, do they get a pass also? How does day trading do anything but tax other traders?
If a stock broker is successful at making his clients wealthier, does that really make up for the fact that it is at the expense of some less proficient (or less lucky) broker and his clients?