According to the numbers cited in the letter, New York State's share of the financial services business dropped by over 25% in a six-year period. After that drop, the country was hit by a pandemic that (i) made New York City a far less attractive place to work (no restaurants, no theater) and (ii) made it clear that it was not necessary for many jobs to be performed in New York City (remote working). In light of those somewhat discouraging facts, the officials of New York State might wonder…

Some of these investors, maybe most of them, may lose money in the short run. But it would be a great thing if they came away from it with a little more financial sophistication. The regulators should consider how best to provide education through social media.

This is sound investment advice, but it cannot compete with the likes of subreddit WallStreetBets. If the SEC wants to reach the social media audience, it is going to have to transform its game.

While new regulations impose expenses on all companies, regulatory requirements bear heaviest upon small firms. The more impediments there are to raising money in private markets, and the more costs there are to going public, the more that smaller firms are disadvantaged in raising capital. Assuming that we are entering into a period of increased regulation of distributions of securities, small firms will be disproportionately impacted by the resulting difficulties, unless the regulators…