Go to a doctor. He tells you that you need a bypass. What are you going to do? What if he is careless. No, you don’t ask that question! Because you trust your doctor.
Go to a car mechanic. He thinks your transmission needs replacement. It will cost you lot of money. You get second opinion. Give the car to the mechanic. Come back and pick up the car. Did he steal any other part? Did he really do what he is claiming he needed to do? How did you check that? You trust him!
Driving a car at 70 mph on a freeway on your lane. Not expecting that the guy in the next lane will hit you. You are not worried. You trust he will do the “right” thing.
How many times you had been in a situation where you almost passed out, and this noble guy helped you (and others didn’t snatch your wallet).
Trust. Whether you are trusting somebody in noble profession (the doctor), or somebody driving (acting out of self preservation logic), or just humanly trust, that people will do the right thing, is what keeps the society.
What if that guy snatched your wallet and took some money from it when you were not yourself. What if the car mechanic replaced some other parts of the car. You won’t know.
Welcome to wall street. Do you trust your advisor and/or your bank and/or your credit card company?
You signed the contract. He has every right to take money from you, because you signed on the dotted lines.
Why?
May be you have a better answer. I would love to know. Mine is very simple. Wall street has the highest level of opportunities to find the flaws in the trust system. So, it attracts people with low level of integrity. Money is supreme for them. If you have agreed by signing a 500 page document, so be it. You are his breakfast, lunch, dinner and that expensive wine.
Somebody told me, it is better to have smart enemies than stupid friends. So, don’t get me wrong. I do desire a system where these businesses and people exist. And, properly channeling them, should produce for the society.
In an amazing way, our system has brought these people in a narrow set of professions (Las Vegas Pimps and Wall Street). Shouldn’t it be easy (and beneficial) to regulate them?