The stock market is a zero-sum game. Every single penny taken out was a penny put in. Money going in is people's pensions, largely.
As a society, we like to reward people who do things that are useful: feed, house, clothe, warm, transport, educate, protect, medicate, lately amuse people, and get money that may be exchanged for those services, or yachts.
HFT traders provide none of those, nor anything comparable, but get yachts anyway.
As a society, we like to reward people who do things that are useful: feed, house, clothe, warm, transport, educate, protect, medicate, lately amuse people, and get money that may be exchanged for those services, or yachts.
HFT traders provide none of those, nor anything comparable, but get yachts anyway.