{"id":637934,"date":"2026-07-19T15:40:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T15:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=637934"},"modified":"2026-07-19T15:40:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T15:40:00","slug":"the-day-democrats-return-to-wall-street","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=637934","title":{"rendered":"The Day Democrats Return To Wall Street"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Day Democrats Return To Wall Street<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00a0Submitted by QTR’s Fringe Finance<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

If there\u2019s one thing the market has become spectacularly good at, it\u2019s extrapolating today\u2019s political environment out to infinity\u2026and \u201cpricing in\u201d things (like the end of the Iran War, Trump Tax cuts, future rate cuts, etc.) over and over again until one day of bad news turns into a year of \u201cmarket optimism\u201d about things getting better, prompting the S&P to rally to new all-time highs 17 days in a row despite the fact that nothing has changed on the ground.<\/p>\n

And today, the market is acting as though Washington\u2019s current regulatory philosophy, which appears to be\u00a0pardon everyone who has ever committed obvious white collar fraud<\/a>\u00a0and take a \u201chands off\u201d approach to new enforcement is simply…permanent. But it isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

I think one of the biggest risks investors aren\u2019t even remotely considering is what happens if Democrats take back the House this fall, or even more importantly, win the White House in 2028?<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a real chance this could lead to a wholesale repricing of the excesses that have flourished under an administration that has made it abundantly clear it would rather participate in markets than police them.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I still think Trump is a better option than anyone on the left side of the aisle when it comes to the Presidency. But ironically, Trump may have handed Democrats the perfect campaign issue. Forget whatever slogan focus groups come up with next. The message practically writes itself: corruption, self-dealing, insider enrichment, pardons for politically connected allies, regulatory capture, and a government that looked the other way while fortunes have been minted in increasingly questionable ways.<\/p>\n

Republicans, including myself, cried wolf over Nancy Pelosi\u2019s trading, Hunter Biden\u2019s take from Burisma and President Biden\u2019s dealings with China. But this administration\u2019s cash grab, flanking all areas of the market\u00a0from crypto<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0hi-speed algorithmic trading<\/a>, puts Biden to shame.<\/p>\n

If Democrats regain power, I think there is virtually no chance they\u00a0don\u2019t<\/em>\u00a0campaign on restoring \u201caccountability\u201d to Wall Street, crypto and corporate America. Sadly, they\u00a0will point to the effects of monetary policy widening the wealth gap<\/a>\u00a0that\u00a0their party also supports\u00a0<\/em>as an impetus for change. And unlike every election where politicians promise to lower drug prices by seventeen cents, accountability on Wall Street is actually something they can begin doing on Day One simply by changing who\u2019s running the agencies.<\/p>\n

Markets aren\u2019t remotely priced for that. Today\u2019s investors have become accustomed to a free-for-all style environment where enforcement often feels optional and the line between financial innovation and outright promotional nonsense has become increasingly difficult to distinguish. Insider trading on prediction markets, one crypto scam after the next, trillion dollar IPOs for companies that aren\u2019t profitable, NBA players rigging games, members of congress insider trading. It\u2019s the\u00a0wild fucking west\u00a0<\/em>out there. That\u2019s part of the reason\u00a0I\u2019m curtailing being an active trader<\/a>. It\u2019s all rigged.<\/p>\n

Crypto has been one of the biggest beneficiaries. The industry has spent years fighting regulators, only to find itself operating in perhaps the friendliest environment it has ever enjoyed. That\u00a0can change astonishingly fast<\/a>. A Democratic administration would almost certainly take a much harder look at exchanges, stablecoins, token offerings, disclosures, anti-money laundering rules, and whether many digital assets belong under securities laws. (Read:\u00a0The Crypto Risk No One Is Discussing<\/a>)<\/p>\n

The important part isn\u2019t whether every proposal succeeds. Markets don\u2019t wait for legislation. They price expectations.<\/p>\n

Somewhere along the way, Wall Street seems to have decided that \u201cvision\u201d is a perfectly acceptable substitute for profits, promotional CEOs deserve celebrity status, retail investors exist primarily as liquidity providers, and every wildly optimistic forecast deserves a trillion-dollar valuation until proven otherwise.<\/p>\n

Questionable accounting<\/a>? Bullish. Aggressive projections? Bullish. Financial engineering? Bullish. Serial\u00a0dilution<\/a>? Bullish. It\u2019s become difficult to tell whether we\u2019re allocating capital or handing out participation trophies for coming up with nonsense stories. Every new S-1 reads like sci-fi pulp fiction L. Ron Hubbard wrote for a penny a page back in 1964.<\/p>\n

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And a Democratic administration doesn\u2019t need to outlaw any of this. It simply needs regulators that remember their job description.<\/p>\n

Suddenly the SEC starts asking questions again. The DOJ develops an interest in corporate misconduct. Congressional hearings reappear. Enforcement actions increase. Companies spend more time paying lawyers and less time posting rocket emojis. That alone changes behavior. Speculative markets don\u2019t like adults entering the room.<\/p>\n

Could Democrats also push for higher corporate taxes, tougher antitrust enforcement, tighter rules around buybacks or capital gains changes? Of course. Maybe half those ideas never become law, but the possibility alone forces investors to rethink the multiples they\u2019re willing to pay for companies whose business models seem to depend on regulators never opening the filing cabinet.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s remarkable is how few people seem prepared for any of this. The consensus appears to be that today\u2019s regulatory climate is simply the new normal forever. That\u2019s usually how markets get blindsided.<\/p>\n

Nobody spends years saying, \u201cCareful, the political pendulum might swing.\u201d Instead, everyone gets caught leaning the same direction until suddenly they\u2019re not. The ole\u2019 \u201cwhen the music stops\u201d adage comes to mind\u2026<\/p>\n

And listen, quite frankly, I don\u2019t think Democrats know much about finance. They\u2019ve historically shown they\u2019re more than capable of misunderstanding markets, overregulating industries and proposing policies that create plenty of unintended consequences.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019ll also admit something that probably won\u2019t make me popular: it wouldn\u2019t be the worst thing in the world if a few very obvious frauds were actually held accountable again.<\/p>\n

If we truly lived in a pure free market where everyone understood the risks, did their own homework, and accepted the consequences of losing money, I\u2019d be perfectly happy letting buyers beware and pulling all regulation. But that\u2019s not the market we have. We have companies that wind up inside passive index funds. Retirement accounts own them automatically. Pension funds own them automatically.\u00a0Millions of ordinary investors buy them without ever making an active decision because they\u2019re simply embedded inside ETFs and benchmark indexes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When obvious promotional garbage gets institutionalized like that, it stops being just another speculative bet between consenting adults\u2026people are getting screwed without even realizing they\u2019re participating.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the part that has me, somewhat reluctantly, yearning for just a little more regulation than we\u2019ve got today.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

QTR\u2019s Disclaimer<\/strong><\/em>:<\/strong>\u00a0Please read my full legal disclaimer\u00a0on my About page here<\/a><\/em>.\u00a0This post represents my opinions only.<\/em>\u00a0In addition, please understand I am an idiot and often get things wrong and lose money. I may own or transact in any names mentioned in this piece at any time without warning. Contributor posts and aggregated posts have been hand selected by me, have not been fact checked and are the opinions of their authors. They are either submitted to QTR by their author, reprinted under a\u00a0Creative Commons license<\/a>\u00a0with my best effort to uphold what the license asks, or with the permission of the author.<\/em><\/p>\n

This is not a recommendation to buy or sell any stocks or securities, just my opinions. I often lose money on positions I trade\/invest in. I may add any name mentioned in this article and sell any name mentioned in this piece at any time, without further warning. None of this is a solicitation to buy or sell securities. I may or may not own names I write about and are watching. Sometimes I\u2019m bullish without owning things, sometimes I\u2019m bearish and do own things. Just assume my positions could be exactly the opposite of what you think they are just in case. If I\u2019m long I could quickly be short and vice versa. I won\u2019t update my positions.<\/em><\/p>\n

As of May 20, 2026 I am attempting to no longer actively trade (read my story here<\/a>). My\u00a0investing\/saving is mostly done by recurring contributions mostly to sector ETFs and a few select equities, trusted third parties who oversee my accounts, and advisors<\/a>. Such advisors or funds, through individual equities, options, index funds, mutual funds, ETFs, or other securities, may have positions in, exposure to, or holdings of names mentioned herein that I know nothing about. Basically, via index funds, ETFs and individual equities it is possible I could own, have exposure to, or not own anything at any point. As of the same date, May 20, 2026, in an\u00a0attempt to lead a healthier lifestyle<\/a>, I\u2019ve also excluded myself from fantasy sports, sports betting, online and in-person casinos and prediction markets.<\/em><\/p>\n

And all positions can change immediately as soon as I publish this, with or without notice and at any point I can be long, short or neutral on any position. You are on your own. Do not make decisions based on my blog. I exist on the fringe. If you see numbers and calculations of any sort, assume they are wrong and double check them. I failed Algebra in 8th grade and topped off my high school math accolades by getting a D- in remedial Calculus my senior year, before becoming an English major in college so I could bullshit my way through things easier.<\/em><\/p>\n

The publisher does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided in this page. These are not the opinions of any of my employers, partners, or associates. I did my best to be honest about my disclosures but can\u2019t guarantee I am right; I write these posts after a couple beers sometimes. I edit after my posts are published because I\u2019m impatient and lazy, so if you see a typo, check back in a half hour. Also, I just straight up get shit wrong a lot. I mention it twice because it\u2019s that important.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nSun, 07\/19\/2026 – 11:40<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Day Democrats Return To Wall Street \u00a0Submitted by QTR’s Fringe Finance If there\u2019s one thing the market has become spectacularly good at, it\u2019s extrapolating today\u2019s political environment out to infinity\u2026and \u201cpricing in\u201d things (like the end of the Iran War, Trump Tax cuts, future rate cuts, etc.) over and over again until one day… Continue reading The Day Democrats Return To Wall Street<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":637935,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[17,22,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-637934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-border-security","category-immigration","category-immigration-reform","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=637934"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637934\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/637935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=637934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=637934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=637934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}