Oct. 31, 2022
October 31, 2022 Shorting should not be legal. James Truslow Adams coined the 'American Dream' by stating, \"life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.\" This creed which many consider the motto and ethos of this country is being dismantled by individuals and corporations (which despite law, are not logically individuals) who devalue businesses and their investors. Businesses and investors with real people, real families and real livelihoods. Investors' portfolios are devalued by phantom shares and sell pressure that would not otherwise exist. Shorting seeks to benefit through other's hardships, by any other definition this is extortion. The SEC has many reports about the damages of short selling, including but not limited to: Dendreon which could have saved many prostate cancer patients, the Covid-19 crash which was made worse by short sellers and GME which was stated by experts as a \"systemic risk.\" How many reports must the SEC release before they do something? \"Operational shorting\" and shorting to \"provide liquidity\" are examples of the jargon used to cover the real meanings of Wall St's corrupt gambling machine. If nobody is selling any given security at a specific price, that is the prerogative of the owner's of said security If a market maker or any other participant is shorting securities \"operationally\" or to \"provide liquidity,\" they are stealing from owners of the underlying. Let the price rise and find a real seller. True price discovery of all securities. Furthermore any shorting on a security, \"operational\" or otherwise, dilutes the monetary value and voting power of each share. By any other name, these actions would be considered fraud. Should the SEC again not step-in to defend the economy of the US against the dangers of short selling, reporting requirements should be as strict and transparent as possible. Many of these suggestions require a 21st century refit of the DTCC, its participants and the SEC, which are conveniently (to the criminals within) trapped in a time of latency arbitrage. Short reporting three times per day (market open, midday, market close) to a publicly accessible database, in which the short seller is listed with the quantity of named underlying and where it was borrowed from. Strict margin requirements that are consistently upheld across all market participants. Strict securities borrowing policies that ensure no naked shorting. Strict, mandatory FTD buy-ins that stop the abuse of the settlement clearing house and eliminate theft by any other name. Any institution or investor failing to deliver securities should be reported nightly to a public database in addition to the quantity of which se curity or securities they have failed to deliver for that day. Market participants that consistently fail to deliver securities need to be held accountable for fraud. Custodial Holders cannot be allowed to continue lending the shares they hold. It presents a huge conflict of interest and is used to devalue the retirement accounts of those who own the security for the benefit of the institution holding them. In fact, I am surprised that modern technology cannot make custodial holders obsolete and suggest doing so. While I do present strict enforcement methods to prospectively allow shorting, shorting should be banned to maintain the prosperous, capitalist democracy of the US.