August 12, 2009
Elizabeth Murphy
Securities and Exchange Council
100 F Street, NE
Washington, DC 20549-1090
Dear Ms. Murphy,
After twenty-one years service with the Navy, I felt I had deserved a little time to myself, and I enjoyed being back in the states for the first few years. After working several part-time positions, I settled on helping friends and neighbors with various odd jobs until I decided to make it a full time business. As a business owner, I do not want the government to become more involved in the workings of American businesses. In my opinion, the shareholder proxy access rule should remain as it currently is. I have seen more than my share of bureaucracy and red-tape during my career, and it does not belong in the workplace.
Even though I have a good pension, the cost of living has become so expensive in the last several years that it has eaten away at my retirement. Since I am a “jack-of-all-trades”, I began a handy man repair company, and it has been doing exceedingly well. My hope is to expand and hire more employees, but if I cannot make a profit, then I will not be able to achieve that goal. There is little difference in the size of a company when it comes to that, because without profits, you cannot grow. That is how you can help the economy, by helping these companies to profit. Then they can expand, which will create new jobs.
The one thing that bothers me the most about this rule change is that it opens the door for the government to become involved. It will begin with larger corporations, and eventually it will trickle down to the little guy, like me. I have already given twenty-one years of my life to my country and government, and at this stage of the game, that is more than enough. The only way to improve our current situation is by allowing businesses to realize a profit, so that we can grow and expand. That is what will help and make the difference that we all need. We do not need rulings that will only hold us back.
With kind regards,
Raymond Simoneau
Raymond F. Simoneau USN Ret