Quote from vicirek:
I am the 99% and can afford computer, data feed and trading cost is very low compared to old good days. Simply put barrier of entry is low and that what scares some on Wall St. They want to use HFT scare as a Trojan horse to limit access for independents. And you guys are falling for it. I am better off with HFT because spreads are tight and liquidity is there. So if they give or take a penny so what. They always did with or without HFT. Overall it is a win for me.
Perfect answer. HFTs are like wholesellers. They don't not block retail sellers to lose money. When considering liquidity, don't look at the bid and ask volume. Look at the daily trading volume. Traders are more than welcome to changer their orders, put fake orders, put fake high volume sell orders to scare the market. If you cannot tolerate these and want someone to regulate them, you are in the wrong business.