Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey is weighing in on the recent surge of retail investing ahead of a Senate Banking Committee hearing Tuesday focusing on the rise of Gamestop stock value.
Toomey appeared on CNBC and argued that it’s not the government’s place to get involved when stocks are inflated despite their value.
“There’s a suggestion that because Gamestop is obviously overpriced, the SEC should do something about stopping people from investing in it,” Toomey told Squawk Box. “I don’t know, was Tesla fairly priced at 1,500 times earnings? Or is it fairly priced today at 1,000 times earning? I don’t know, neither does the SEC. Neither of us should be telling people what they can buy, or what they can’t buy.”
Toomey also said the democratization of the markets have been an overall good thing.
“Zero commissions, extremely narrow bid offer means retail investors can buy into stocks the way they never could before, being able to buy a fraction of a share for instance,” Toomey said.
He believes this is also a reason why more Americans are investing now than ever before.
