[intended]

They definitely served that function.

The sucky rule about history seems to be - “is this better than what was there before.”

Equity markets can definitely be made more competitive, and being ungodly rich needs to be more expensive than it currently is.

Loans don’t work the same way as equity investments, because loans are essentially low risk tools. They have a fixed payoff every month/year, whereas something like an expedition or new product launch can recoup its investments only post a certain period, if at all.

As a result loans originators don’t invest in high risk ventures.

This is a rule of thumb, there are many instruments you can create which will fill the gap.

We definitely need more competition and user protection in markets (and in general). The pendulum has swung very far in favor of firms in the US, and that needs to be balanced.