Quote from Steve Tvardek:
Who's gonna provide liquidity intraday then?
The computers that flocked to the NYSE once Hybrid went into effect, who else? They don't need a seat, a computer, a mouse, a coffee machine, a bathroom an office, just a programmer and a backer. That's where Goldman Sachs comes in.
Daytraders are not needed for liquidity, the computers are more than ready to provide it. NYSE volume has been rising due to an excess of daytraders, HFT hedgies, black boxes, etc. Most of this daytrading population is just excess, consider that NYSE has been around for over 100 years with minimal "daytrader" involvement. In mid 1990s, the daytrader population was miniscule in comparison to now.
A certain fraction of daytraders are not going anywhere, like you. Also, there is no sense in eliminating every single daytrader, gotta keep the new hopefuls coming to keep the leverage wheel turning and the commissions churning.
It happened with Nasdaq and there was no liquidity crisis so why would it be different for NYSE? They took the cash cow and sent it to the butcher.