Today, Mark Cuban asked >> "What business is Wall Street in?" (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1332422 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1332422) At a fu

Today, Mark Cuban asked >> "What business is Wall Street in?" (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1332422 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1332422) At a fundamental level, Wall Street seeks to match the demand for capital (investors) with the supply of capital (savers). To encourage responsible execution of the duty, the government has two primary tools: regulation and taxation. IMO, the system requires three important changes to achieve this: 1) Transparency Require more disclosure from brokers. 2) Education Basic finance and economics should be a required part of every curriculum. 3) Tax short-term capital gains Certain industries require funding on a short-term basis, so this must be done carefully. The most difficult proposal to effectively implement, but also the one with the most potential to have an immediate and positive impact. Fortunately, the government has already determined that short term investments are less desirable (hence the higher tax rate). In contrast with this article, here is the other predominant perspective on this matter: http://hotair.com/archives/2010/05/03/video-six-reasons-to-repeal-the-capital-gain-tax/ http://hotair.com/archives/2010/05/03/video-six-reasons-to-r...