LAWS ARE FOR THE LITTLE PEOPLE: “The Senate has severely scaled back the Stock Act, the law to stop members of Congress and their staff from trading on insider information, in an under-the-radar vote that has been sharply criticised by advocates of political transparency.”

A reader comments:

This is symptomatic of the bigger and very true point you make in the legal protection for 401ks post: behavior changes dramatically when we don’t expect growth. It’s a fight for share. Thus politicians fighting so hard to preserve their information advantage in the public markets.

Old ways to get rich:

Invent good stuff.

New ways to get rich:

Insider trading.
Taxes and rents.
Capital raids.

This is what politics becomes like in a society with narrow horizons. it’s not necessarily bad for those who excel at such maneuvering. For them, a dynamic society is limiting.