[tryptophan]

Classic case of overregulation killing things. Stock markets were originally invented to fund very risky new ventures in the Netherlands. Now you need to spend millions on lawyers and various forms before being allowed to list, after which the regulatory nonsense only spirals upwards to more and more.

There is no reason that random mom and pop shops shouldnt be able to list their sandwitch shop and raise 50k to remodel. Will there be tons of scams and nonsense? Yes. Dont invest in tiny companies with no track record then, easy solution. Will productive stuff also happen? Also yes. People can already waste their money gambling/smoking/lotteries/drugs/stock options/supid luxury goods - all of which have a guaranteed chance of working out poorly for society, but this is apparently ok and we instead need to protect people from the stock market.