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Robinhood and the death of the jury trial

The old saying about lotteries is, "You can't win if you don't play." Warren Buffet's wingman Charlie Munger thinks Robinhood investors in GameStop, AMC, silver, etc. are playing to lose. Intelligent investing is no fun. "Charlie, no one's listening to the second smartest guy in the room. Get some good memes and come back to us."

For years, defense lawyers have wrung their hands about the "litigation lottery." If the case gets to a jury, no one knows what might happen. So a plaintiff might think, why should I settle for a sure thing, when I could strike it big? 

Some jurors are already reporting for duty from home. Many of those jurors ride the latest stock apps for fun and profit. When r/wallstreetbets becomes r/jurybets, there's no gambling on a fair outcome.

Robinhood spokeswoman Jacqueline Ortiz Ramsay said Mr. Munger’s comment Wednesday about people having the mind-set of racetrack bettors was “disappointing and elitist.” Mr. Munger made the comment after saying: “It’s really stupid to have a culture which encourages as much gambling in stocks.” “In one fell swoop an entire new generation of investors has been criticized and this commentary overlooks the cultural shift that is taking place in our nation today,” she said. “Robinhood was created to allow people who don’t have access to generational wealth or the resources that come with it to begin investing in the U.S. stock market.”