February 23, 2009
Dear Chairperson Shapiro:
The US government has given hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayers’!money to banking institutions in the form of TARP money and is in the process of providing billions more to these banks. Your office has the capacity to protect taxpayers money by stopping the destruction of bank stocks that is happening on a daily basis. Please implement taxpayer protection by stopping the shorting of any institution that is being provided with tax payer money . It is clear that the hedge funds are in control of the market, shorting the financial institutions with reckless abandon, bidding up the price of credit default swaps which bet on the failure of these same institutions and using fear and rumors to destroy shareholder and taxpayer value.
It has been weeks since you sat in confirmation proceedings before congress and stated that you are in favor of reinstating the uptick rule and enforcing the SEC rules on improper shorting in the markets. It is time for action, not inaction . It is time to protect the taxpayers and shareholders, not the hedge funds.
Do we have new leadership in Washington or no leadership in Washington Please show us that this is a time of looking out for the US citizen tax dollars.
Regards,
Alfred I. Means, III
Principal
iCap Realty Advisors