[ArchD]

If you were a purely profit-minded trader in a situation where you have the chance to make a million with 50% chance and lose a thousand with 50%, and in the scenario where you lose a thousand, other members of society take a collective loss of hundreds of millions, what would you do? My numbers are not indicative of the historical reality but are just to illustrate the idea of socialized costs. Anyway, I think your choice is clear.

This trader is not intentionally causing crashes, but is increasing systemic risk of crashes. 'Purposefully' causing crashes is not necessary for actually causing crashes.

The problem is both the sysadms and the hackers. I don't think, though, that the anger is directed 100% at the hackers, though the location of the protest, apart from the actual message you see on the signs if you bother to examine them, may suggest otherwise.

[mseebach]

What you're describing is so common when government embrace an industry that it is it's own field of economic research. It's called moral hazard.

I try not to draw too many conclusions from signs or any individual expression of opinion. But I do note that the protesters marched to the home of the J.P. Morgan CEO as well as the J.P. Morgan headquarters, even though J.P. Morgan didn't bet the house on sub-prime mortgages and didn't need bail-out. That's location and action indicating anger focused on Wall Street.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020349970457662...