Mermelstein and Cliff, thankfully those days are long gone. I was just starting out back then as far as actively trading. I wasn't well-capitalized, and I was buying small amounts of stock. Looking back at those confirmations, those commissions were eating me alive.
When you buy a couple hundred shares at two bucks and the commission is $15 or $20 each way, your odds of a profitable trade go way down.
Those commission rates definitely made a buy and hold strategy much more appealing.
I wouldn't be averse to a small tax on stock sales akin to the current SEC fee. If you make it small enough that people don't really notice it, I don't see the harm.
I have seen lots of $1 stocks with strong earnings and solid balance sheets triple, quadruple and more, but I have yet to see one go below zero.