So much of our public policy is so obviously bad (ethanol subsidies, the war machine, tobacco subsidies) that it screams corruption. Obviously good public policy, like a
transaction tax on stock trades, never gets mentioned.
(High frequency trading) is computer-generated front running. It ought to be illegal, but the SEC is too timid to kill it. Yes, front running is already illegal, and yes, the SEC has slapped a few wrists about preferential access to order data. But the tiny fines show that the SEC cannot be trusted to put the interests of investors ahead of those of traders and exchanges.
