[MontyCarloHall]

Perhaps with the exception of space weapons, none of those would pay Jane Street-tier salaries.

All I'm saying is that I wish our economic system were set up such that people with the mental aptitude to work at a place like Jane Street could earn commensurate salaries for applying that aptitude towards problems with much greater positive externalities than proprietary trading. Alas, it is not so.

[alchemist1e9]

It’s incorrect that proprietary trading has negative externalities. It’s also exhausting trying to explain that to an audience that has fundamental misconceptions about economics, financial systems, and monetary systems, so I don’t think I have the energy today. Hopefully someone else will and add to this thread.

[MontyCarloHall]

I never said it has negative externalities (whether it does or doesn't is a totally separate discussion), only that its positive externalities are certainly much less than some other fields that employ commensurately smart people, e.g. healthcare or climate change research.