Points well-taken. Backtesting is, much like paper-trading in the sense you discuss, a way to gain a feel, an experience, for how prices move, for someone who has not experienced such through an intimate and lengthy experience. But I would never trade something developed on past data. To do so is to be looking at the same data everyone else is. Rather, I want to make money on the way smoke moves through a room, I want to make money by trading anything that moves, not necessarily how it has moved in the past. This means systems where you can see, intuitively, they have to work. All-too-often people start by developing strategies on past data, and they have unwittingly, in most cases, lent themselves prey to the Second Arc Sine Law.
Ug. The start of the 1990s was almost 30 years ago. A different world now. Take that into account. You are moving now into the start of the 2020s. Keep things in perspective.
Then it was easy to make money, you didn't need to know much...now you need skills and discipline, bull market not-with-standing. Of course I'm referring to trading and not managing a portfolio or what your IRA looks like.
Perhaps you believe to readily. The government has strong left-leanings... has been known to "pad" data and stats to achieve desired response/results. What you are trying to defend as "science", I suspect is more like propaganda.
Yes: Property rights. Security. Education. All raise expected returns from investment in human capital.
"...has been known to..." Bull E. Shit. Fercrisakes, Scat. I don't always agree with you, but you don't generally post stupid shit like this. Shame on you. Seriously.
I'm a hasher: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hash_House_Harriers Was (finally) named in March 2000. As a marathon-running economist, I earned, Shriveled Flaming NasDiq. On-On!