1929 vs 2025: Andrew Ross Sorkin on Crashes, Bubbles & Lessons Learned (youtube.com)
The regular investor was prevented or obstructed from investing, and the rich guy was allowed, not just because he was an expert, but because no one cared if he lost money. We don't want the regular guy to lose the money. Sorkin said that when he tried to warn speculators off memecoins and other things, people told him to stop because he wasn't protecting them, he was protecting the man, the rich. When there's liquidity, people want to invest it. If you invested borrowed money in 1928 you made 46% it looked great, but in 1929 it was down 17% (and people thought it might go back up), initiated by debt complications. However if you don't allow speculation (which is risk discovery, price discovery, not just measured in stock value but in effort and relationships and persuasion) nothing is innovated.