In a fairy-tale world of efficient markets and rational investors, that would suffice. I’m sure a society composed entirely of androids like Lieutenant Commander Data would hold firms to account.

Sadly, that is not the world in which we live. Shareholders are emotional and easily manipulated.

From The Intelligent Investor (the most celebrated investing manual of all time):

…the shareholders are a complete washout. As a class they show neither intelligence nor alertness. They vote in sheeplike fashion for whatever the management recommends and no matter how poor the management’s record of accomplishment may be… The only way to inspire the Average American shareholder to take any independently intelligent action would be by exploding a firecracker under him… (pp 498 in my copy).

So, yes. The state has a role. A system of “audit insurance” rather than the present model would be a dramatic improvement. Every single audit of a financial institution that I have been a part of has uncovered nefarious – though often legal – behavior by management that has deleterious consequences for the shareholder. This behavior is not documented in the financial statements and only a highly educated/experience professional is able to unwind the smoke/mirrors to figure out what is going on. The average investor is defenseless.

If you’re building your philosophy on top of a species (us) that does not conform to the always-rational species that you assume the result will be mass looting, corruption and fraud. Not all that different from what we have now.

I am in total agreement with the assertion that the present American regime is corrupt beyond repair. They have been bought by private interests. There is zero public check on private power in the US.

In a fairy-tale world of efficient markets and rational investors, that would suffice. I’m sure a society composed entirely of androids like Lieutenant Commander Data would hold firms to account.

Sadly, that is not the world in which we live. Shareholders are emotional and easily manipulated.

From The Intelligent Investor (the most celebrated investing manual of all time):

…the shareholders are a complete washout. As a class they show neither intelligence nor alertness. They vote in sheeplike fashion for whatever the management recommends and no matter how poor the management’s record of accomplishment may be… The only way to inspire the Average American shareholder to take any independently intelligent action would be by exploding a firecracker under him… (pp 498 in my copy).

So, yes. The state has a role. A system of “audit insurance” rather than the present model would be a dramatic improvement. Every single audit of a financial institution that I have been a part of has uncovered nefarious – though often legal – behavior by management that has deleterious consequences for the shareholder. This behavior is not documented in the financial statements and only a highly educated/experience professional is able to unwind the smoke/mirrors to figure out what is going on. The average investor is defenseless.

If you’re building your philosophy on top of a species (us) that does not conform to the always-rational species that you assume the result will be mass looting, corruption and fraud. Not all that different from what we have now.

I am in total agreement with the assertion that the present American regime is corrupt beyond repair. They have been bought by private interests. There is zero public check on private power in the US.

In a fairy-tale world of efficient markets and rational investors, that would suffice. I’m sure a society composed entirely of androids like Lieutenant Commander Data would hold firms to account.

Sadly, that is not the world in which we live. Shareholders are emotional and easily manipulated.

From The Intelligent Investor (the most celebrated investing manual of all time):

…the shareholders are a complete washout. As a class they show neither intelligence nor alertness. They vote in sheeplike fashion for whatever the management recommends and no matter how poor the management’s record of accomplishment may be… The only way to inspire the Average American shareholder to take any independently intelligent action would be by exploding a firecracker under him… (pp 498 in my copy).

So, yes. The state has a role. A system of “audit insurance” rather than the present model would be a dramatic improvement. Every single audit of a financial institution that I have been a part of has uncovered nefarious – though often legal – behavior by management that has deleterious consequences for the shareholder. This behavior is not documented in the financial statements and only a highly educated/experience professional is able to unwind the smoke/mirrors to figure out what is going on. The average investor is defenseless.

If you’re building your philosophy on top of a species (us) that does not conform to the always-rational species that you assume the result will be mass looting, corruption and fraud. Not all that different from what we have now.

I am in total agreement with the assertion that the present American regime is corrupt beyond repair. They have been bought by private interests. There is zero public check on private power in the US.

In a fairy-tale world of efficient markets and rational investors, that would suffice. I’m sure a society composed entirely of androids like Lieutenant Commander Data would hold firms to account.

Sadly, that is not the world in which we live. Shareholders are emotional and easily manipulated.

From The Intelligent Investor (the most celebrated investing manual of all time):

…the shareholders are a complete washout. As a class they show neither intelligence nor alertness. They vote in sheeplike fashion for whatever the management recommends and no matter how poor the management’s record of accomplishment may be… The only way to inspire the Average American shareholder to take any independently intelligent action would be by exploding a firecracker under him… (pp 498 in my copy).

So, yes. The state has a role. A system of “audit insurance” rather than the present model would be a dramatic improvement. Every single audit of a financial institution that I have been a part of has uncovered nefarious – though often legal – behavior by management that has deleterious consequences for the shareholder. This behavior is not documented in the financial statements and only a highly educated/experience professional is able to unwind the smoke/mirrors to figure out what is going on. The average investor is defenseless.

If you’re building your philosophy on top of a species (us) that does not conform to the always-rational species that you assume the result will be mass looting, corruption and fraud. Not all that different from what we have now.

I am in total agreement with the assertion that the present American regime is corrupt beyond repair. They have been bought by private interests. There is zero public check on private power in the US.

In a fairy-tale world of efficient markets and rational investors, that would suffice. I’m sure a society composed entirely of androids like Lieutenant Commander Data would hold firms to account.

Sadly, that is not the world in which we live. Shareholders are emotional and easily manipulated.

From The Intelligent Investor (the most celebrated investing manual of all time):

…the shareholders are a complete washout. As a class they show neither intelligence nor alertness. They vote in sheeplike fashion for whatever the management recommends and no matter how poor the management’s record of accomplishment may be… The only way to inspire the Average American shareholder to take any independently intelligent action would be by exploding a firecracker under him… (pp 498 in my copy).

So, yes. The state has a role. A system of “audit insurance” rather than the present model would be a dramatic improvement. Every single audit of a financial institution that I have been a part of has uncovered nefarious – though often legal – behavior by management that has deleterious consequences for the shareholder. This behavior is not documented in the financial statements and only a highly educated/experience professional is able to unwind the smoke/mirrors to figure out what is going on. The average investor is defenseless.

If you’re building your philosophy on top of a species (us) that does not conform to the always-rational species that you assume the result will be mass looting, corruption and fraud. Not all that different from what we have now.

I am in total agreement with the assertion that the present American regime is corrupt beyond repair. They have been bought by private interests. There is zero public check on private power in the US.

In a fairy-tale world of efficient markets and rational investors, that would suffice. I’m sure a society composed entirely of androids like Lieutenant Commander Data would hold firms to account.

Sadly, that is not the world in which we live. Shareholders are emotional and easily manipulated.

From The Intelligent Investor (the most celebrated investing manual of all time):

…the shareholders are a complete washout. As a class they show neither intelligence nor alertness. They vote in sheeplike fashion for whatever the management recommends and no matter how poor the management’s record of accomplishment may be… The only way to inspire the Average American shareholder to take any independently intelligent action would be by exploding a firecracker under him… (pp 498 in my copy).

So, yes. The state has a role. A system of “audit insurance” rather than the present model would be a dramatic improvement. Every single audit of a financial institution that I have been a part of has uncovered nefarious – though often legal – behavior by management that has deleterious consequences for the shareholder. This behavior is not documented in the financial statements and only a highly educated/experience professional is able to unwind the smoke/mirrors to figure out what is going on. The average investor is defenseless.

If you’re building your philosophy on top of a species (us) that does not conform to the always-rational species that you assume the result will be mass looting, corruption and fraud. Not all that different from what we have now.

I am in total agreement with the assertion that the present American regime is corrupt beyond repair. They have been bought by private interests. There is zero public check on private power in the US.

In a fairy-tale world of efficient markets and rational investors, that would suffice. I’m sure a society composed entirely of androids like Lieutenant Commander Data would hold firms to account.

Sadly, that is not the world in which we live. Shareholders are emotional and easily manipulated.

From The Intelligent Investor (the most celebrated investing manual of all time):

…the shareholders are a complete washout. As a class they show neither intelligence nor alertness. They vote in sheeplike fashion for whatever the management recommends and no matter how poor the management’s record of accomplishment may be… The only way to inspire the Average American shareholder to take any independently intelligent action would be by exploding a firecracker under him… (pp 498 in my copy).

So, yes. The state has a role. A system of “audit insurance” rather than the present model would be a dramatic improvement. Every single audit of a financial institution that I have been a part of has uncovered nefarious – though often legal – behavior by management that has deleterious consequences for the shareholder. This behavior is not documented in the financial statements and only a highly educated/experience professional is able to unwind the smoke/mirrors to figure out what is going on. The average investor is defenseless.

If you’re building your philosophy on top of a species (us) that does not conform to the always-rational species that you assume the result will be mass looting, corruption and fraud. Not all that different from what we have now.

I am in total agreement with the assertion that the present American regime is corrupt beyond repair. They have been bought by private interests. There is zero public check on private power in the US.

In a fairy-tale world of efficient markets and rational investors, that would suffice. I’m sure a society composed entirely of androids like Lieutenant Commander Data would hold firms to account.

Sadly, that is not the world in which we live. Shareholders are emotional and easily manipulated.

From The Intelligent Investor (the most celebrated investing manual of all time):

…the shareholders are a complete washout. As a class they show neither intelligence nor alertness. They vote in sheeplike fashion for whatever the management recommends and no matter how poor the management’s record of accomplishment may be… The only way to inspire the Average American shareholder to take any independently intelligent action would be by exploding a firecracker under him… (pp 498 in my copy).

So, yes. The state has a role. A system of “audit insurance” rather than the present model would be a dramatic improvement. Every single audit of a financial institution that I have been a part of has uncovered nefarious – though often legal – behavior by management that has deleterious consequences for the shareholder. This behavior is not documented in the financial statements and only a highly educated/experience professional is able to unwind the smoke/mirrors to figure out what is going on. The average investor is defenseless.

If you’re building your philosophy on top of a species (us) that does not conform to the always-rational species that you assume the result will be mass looting, corruption and fraud. Not all that different from what we have now.

I am in total agreement with the assertion that the present American regime is corrupt beyond repair. They have been bought by private interests. There is zero public check on private power in the US.

In a fairy-tale world of efficient markets and rational investors, that would suffice. I’m sure a society composed entirely of androids like Lieutenant Commander Data would hold firms to account.

Sadly, that is not the world in which we live. Shareholders are emotional and easily manipulated.

From The Intelligent Investor (the most celebrated investing manual of all time):

…the shareholders are a complete washout. As a class they show neither intelligence nor alertness. They vote in sheeplike fashion for whatever the management recommends and no matter how poor the management’s record of accomplishment may be… The only way to inspire the Average American shareholder to take any independently intelligent action would be by exploding a firecracker under him… (pp 498 in my copy).

So, yes. The state has a role. A system of “audit insurance” rather than the present model would be a dramatic improvement. Every single audit of a financial institution that I have been a part of has uncovered nefarious – though often legal – behavior by management that has deleterious consequences for the shareholder. This behavior is not documented in the financial statements and only a highly educated/experience professional is able to unwind the smoke/mirrors to figure out what is going on. The average investor is defenseless.

If you’re building your philosophy on top of a species (us) that does not conform to the always-rational species that you assume the result will be mass looting, corruption and fraud. Not all that different from what we have now.

I am in total agreement with the assertion that the present American regime is corrupt beyond repair. They have been bought by private interests. There is zero public check on private power in the US.

In a fairy-tale world of efficient markets and rational investors, that would suffice. I’m sure a society composed entirely of androids like Lieutenant Commander Data would hold firms to account.

Sadly, that is not the world in which we live. Shareholders are emotional and easily manipulated.

From The Intelligent Investor (the most celebrated investing manual of all time):

…the shareholders are a complete washout. As a class they show neither intelligence nor alertness. They vote in sheeplike fashion for whatever the management recommends and no matter how poor the management’s record of accomplishment may be… The only way to inspire the Average American shareholder to take any independently intelligent action would be by exploding a firecracker under him… (pp 498 in my copy).

So, yes. The state has a role. A system of “audit insurance” rather than the present model would be a dramatic improvement. Every single audit of a financial institution that I have been a part of has uncovered nefarious – though often legal – behavior by management that has deleterious consequences for the shareholder. This behavior is not documented in the financial statements and only a highly educated/experience professional is able to unwind the smoke/mirrors to figure out what is going on. The average investor is defenseless.

If you’re building your philosophy on top of a species (us) that does not conform to the always-rational species that you assume the result will be mass looting, corruption and fraud. Not all that different from what we have now.

I am in total agreement with the assertion that the present American regime is corrupt beyond repair. They have been bought by private interests. There is zero public check on private power in the US.