^^ exactly.
If you can see clearly the manipulation, what's the problem? nobody has any special advantages in a zero sum game.
Well before the SEC there were lots of things big traders were doing that eventually became illegal, but maybe your point still stands.
The government is responsible for consumer protection. If nobody wants manipulation in stock markets, commodity markets etc... then let democracy have its way. But in bitcoin land, well, we asked for freedom, and hey..... we got it! and it's great. but unfortunately manipulation cannot be dealt with in the protocol. now people will need to learn for once how to deal with their problems them selves.
Various solutions are evolving regarding this wild-wild west, and maybe in time, there will be decentralized solutions that solve some of the problems of people running off with coins, for example... Hopefully!!! I know during innovation stages, there are going to be risks.. but I would hate to lose all my coins b/c some smart 16 year old figured out a way to hack into my wallet or to divert my transaction or something like that.