> This problem of “too many seats at the table” is pervasive: you actually have to ask for your competitors’ permissions before you can open anything, from a hospital to an ice cream shop. We’ve never had so few rights over our own property, and so many over that of others.
This rang particularly true for me. A long time ago I had gotten into trading as a hobby. I took it seriously, and made some money. However, due to regulatory controls I was kneecapped. Unless I was willing to trade with $25,000 and willing to maintain that balance (PDT requires >= $25,000) I couldn't just have my fun. The kneecapping came in the form of not being able to get out of trades. Not being able to stack into trades because despite liquidity and signing agreements to pay back margin I was still being held back by regulation. So maybe I collect capital and start a hedge fund? Also regulated. Capital requirements are even higher and taxes, fees, etc are insane. Sure, I could trade futures without PDT but there's fewer opportunities because there are fewer markets.
Ostensibly the regulation in the markets was "to protect people" but in fact it simply hurts the majority of people who are responsible and willing to take risk. The only people protected by these regulations are the big banks, trading desks, and hedge funds who by executive fiat trade only amongst themselves. The rules for day trading are simple. You have to sign paperwork to say you're experienced enough to trade options. This should be enough.
I mention this example because it's not unique to trading. Regulation has a purpose. If there's something that is dangerous, and also you can reasonably expect a person of reasonable intelligence to not understand the risk, then it makes sense. Regulations on the car industry make sense. Medical regulations make sense, etc. Last mile regulations? Makes no sense. Regulations for laying your own copper? Make no sense.
But there are so many rules to everything these days. It gets harder to start up anything because there are so, so many hoops to jump through. Capital requirements, paperwork, licenses, etc. All for mundane things. Want to build a fence for yourself? Great. Want to build one for a few friends? Pray the government doesn't find out.
When you read the stories of these millionaires and billionaires, professional traders, construction company owners, etc the majority of them got their start when regulations were low. It allows you to experiment and the vast majority of people don't set out to intentionally damage society. The trade off is risk to the population. Again, if the thing is dangerous and hard to understand regulation makes sense. But we are far too "protected" (deliberate scare quotes) by the government. It makes it impossible for the small guy to start anything truly revolutionary. Regulation is a fantastic scam for insurers and big business in a vast majority of otherwise mundane and borderline trivial industries.
I would challenge a small team of people to try to build a powerful engine without fighting regulators. I imagine we will very soon hit a period where everything is regulated and controlled by vast cabals of business with significant regulatory capture. We've enabled this, and we already do. Most people would be shocked at how many congress critters are on FAANG payroll. How many are on ISP payrolls, etc.