No Free Markets, Just Manipulations

<p>Capitalism at its root thrives on a free market where a buyer and seller can exchange value but throughout history we see that markets are not just a place for these two types of people.  There are multiple opportunities for people to help with the transaction, multiply transactions and even profit from the manipulation of the buyer/seller relationship.  In this episode we discuss a few of the added layers in the US financial markets and the difficulty in having the small stack of chips in a highly manipulated game of trade.</p><p>The buyer/ seller relationship has always benefited from having a convenient marketplace to exchange value.  Over time the market makers, speculators and oligarchs became regulars on the scene and have changed the way "free" markets now operate.  They have created layers for us to now peel back to understand how we must navigate a market.</p><p>A helpful exercise is briefly to follow and outline the influence of these positions or layers in the market.  Your familiarity with these "layers" and their influence can be helpful in your future trades.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Layer #1</strong></p><ul><li>Buyer</li><li>Seller</li><li>Speculator</li><li>Oligarch</li></ul><p> </p><p><strong>The second layer of complexity comes through the worldview of:</strong></p><p>Capitalist or Marxist</p><p> </p><p><strong>The third layer through the worldview of a:</strong></p><p>Democrat or Republican</p><p> </p><p>Layers 2 and 3 make it near impossible to navigate a trade - when the exchange of value is no longer seen as the exchange between a buyer and seller but a buyer or seller coming to the table with one or more of the above hats on, the complexity of motive and exchange becomes exponential.</p><p><strong>For that reason we simplified our paradigm on "exchange" by creating a fourth layer</strong> (looking at lesson from Jim Rohn as he outlined what happened on the first day of the Christian church) - this layer outlining the  mindset of a buyer or a potential customer that we can serve.</p><p>In Ac