re: the 'invisible hand'
You are correct (or at least I agree with you, maybe we are
both wrong
).
Trouble is, the
regulators can't smack down the snake-oil salesmen either. Where was the SEC with Bernie Madoff? Why didn't Tim Geitner get audited by the IRS? and on and on....
The snake oil salesmen (and women) can move 1000x faster than those hundreds of people in Congress. The (largest part of) answer is transparency and education.
Why did so many people on this forum express shock at all those who were taken by Madoff? Simple, we are educated enough in basic financial matters to know the warning signs, we would look for more transparency, etc.
Don't get me wrong, I think that some forms of regulation are a good thing and I welcome them. But I really want to see them focus on education and transparency. I just love that old quote - "You can't cheat an honest man." Nah, it's not 100% true, but there is a lot of truth to it.
-ERD50