"Bankers and financeers deserve their pay because they take all the risk" *in theory* they do. after all, a lot of these financial-like practices (stock owners

"Bankers and financeers deserve their pay because they take all the risk" *in theory* they do. after all, a lot of these financial-like practices (stock ownership, and such) are the legacy of oceanic trading trips, which are very risky. Over the time the 'markets' evolved and become more sophisticated (I think the rise of the spreadsheet allowed it all to become even more complicated) until today when some players get rid of any and all risk so that in the end "the market" (i.e. the government and "the taxpayer") suck it up. I think there's some confussion about the fact that trading in a financial market is not a productive (value creation) activity, the only value they add is stability (becuase this is useful) but this is not strictly creative value (unlike, for example, manufacture). Similarly to rent, its value (usefulness) is about maintanance and stability.