look...it's really simple..let me ask you this-what competition you are talking about?
here is how i see it- smaller number of exchanges and simple rules for EVERY participant. (no ability to place sub penny order for certain groups of 'chosen ones')
this would create a competition thru the price. people from all over the world have to come and compete on PRICE . all at same place. it's use to be like that priorities,remember them? price,size,time. in this exact order. where are they now? GONE. well..except for the price,which was abused all the time thru subpennying.
now-what's your competition creates? we got 60 exchanges and you want more competition. what they create? they create competition for ORDER FLOW. you and i on our retail level-we don't' want that. well maybe you do,but i don't. do you like ,when your broker selling the info about order, you just submitted to other market participants and route your order wherever they want? i don't. do you like that someone can see your order before it can reach any exchange? i can go on forever on this subject,cause i see this sh**t every single day,10's if not 100's times a day. this is not pro retail market. it newer was,but today-it's just brutal.and this is precisely why US stock market is dead and dry. and so ET