January 9, 2007
I am just a common investor who does more research than most to carefully select appropriate investments for myself and my family. I think it's wrong to start charging for information that was previously accessible for no fee. What this means is that the those who can afford to pay for investor information will continually have the advantage over those who can not. If social security is ever privatized, the masses will be at a disadvantage unless they can afford to purchase information and/or consult with a financial advisor. It fuels the gap between the 'haves' and 'have nots'. It's going to get to the point that individual investors will perceive the market as being an unfair playing field and will want to quit playing. Unfairness will squeeze the individual investor out of the market and the market will be comprised of large institutional investors. You can not have a fair, efficient market with information going to some. I strongly oppose this action and will consider using other exchanges (possibly going overseas) if U.S. markets become unfair.