The Piracy Effect, from Pitt T. Maner III
Now if someone could just IPO an anti-piracy company and dividend out the protection money:
Admiral Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations, explained to Bloomberg how "piracy syndicates in villages, mainly in largely ungoverned Somalia, solicit investors who buy shares in piracy enterprises and gain a corresponding share of ransoms paid." As ransoms grow bigger, it is not only more attractive as an investment, it also leads to a sort of wealth effect by which more people become interested, more funds are made available, and better equipment is put at the hands of brigands.