June 3, 2009
I am a 70 year-old retiree who has invested in both the stock and bond markets. I have lived through bubbles and crashes.
I feel compelled to comment because JIM CRAMER'S SHOW IS HAVING AN UNWARRANTED INFLUENCE ON YOUR DECISION-MAKING. I have read through the scores of comments posted on your website the day after Jim Cramer uses his bully pulpit TV show for yet another screed blaming short sellers, ETFs etc. for ruining their life savings. Some are under the impression that if there had been an uptick rule, Bear Sterns and Washington Mutual would be thriving companies today. The danger of letting a screaming TV Madman distort the facts is that it convinces viewers and investors to invest complacently in stocks again without comprehending that companies that make egregiously bad management and investment decisions are and should be held to account by the marketplace. Please do not let the sheer number of comments from nave investors who have been programmed to post by Mr. Cramer have an undue influence on your eventual decision.
Although I do not favor reinstatement of the uptick rule, I trust that you will be most vigilant about enforcing naked short selling violations and other similar abuses.