July 19, 2023
Thank you for the opportunity to provide feedback on this proposal.
The excessive opacity of the current financial system is a disservice to the majority of the population. By ensuring that the system is too complicated for the average citizen to understand in, policymakers leave the door open for maliciously self-interested organizations and individuals to abuse the mechanisms of said system and thus siphon wealth away from the layman. This contributes to growing wealth inequality history teaches us that this is in turn will lead to systemic instability, which further negatively impacts the functioning of not just our economy but our society as a whole.
Swaps are one such mechanism by which unscrupulous entities can avoid financial responsibility for poor financial decisions while obfuscating the true state of their debts and liabilities. Further obscuring these figures from the eyes of the public can only be perceived as a dangerous and anti-social practice. In an era of increasingly available information and awareness, the desire to hide this information can only be perceived as a willful deception of the American people and the global community at large.
Thus, the accurate reporting of large security-based swap positions is an ethical obligation of both the involved business entities and the government bodies that oversee their operations. It is only by enforcing rules and regulations which ensure a fair and open financial system that we can collectively avoid allowing bad actors to repeat the devastating mistakes which led to the 2007-2008 Financial Crisis, the rampant abuse of the Paycheck Protection Program, and other such catastrophes.
As public unrest continues to mount across the nation due to inflation, the mounting cost of living, and the growing inaccessibility of property ownership, the SEC should be focusing their efforts on ensuring the financial health of the people. Proposals such as these are a step in that direction.
Thank you for your time and consideration.