October 18, 2012
The people who built this country didn't cower in a corner and let every fear drive them into a state of paralysis. They got out there and took healthy risks. Google "The Buttonwood Tree"- its where Wall Street had its humble beginnings. Under the Buttonwood tree people bought and sold simple and relatively crude investment vehicles- stock ownership, debt and I.O.U's.
There was opportunity for fraud back then too, but it ended up building into the most powerful financial marketplace in the world.
Investment bankers make the vast majority of their money from buying and selling established companies (as well as other activities NOT related to start-ups). The market that funds start-ups and raises money to fund the expansion of small companies is one that is shrinking. The number of IPO's (Initial Public Offerings) is almost non-existent.
In order to compete in the global economy, the United States will need to support structures (or non-structures) that will be the greenhouses of company incubation. "That government is best which governs least" Thomas Jefferson