May 4, 2009
Free market does not mean allowing someone to yell "FIRE" in a crowded theatre just to produce traffic. For a market to be "free", there must be equitable, enforceable rules creating a level playing field between the largest and smallest investors.
1) Normal, widely accepted property rights should apply in the stock market. One should NOT be able to sell what one does not OWN. A real estate broker can't borrow money on listings entrusted into his/her care by individual homeowners, let's not let stock brokers/hedge funds or leveraged ETF's do it either. Consider:
a. No naked short selling...period.
b. Shares must be 'delivered' before can be shorted
c. Reinstate the previous uptick rule with the following
modifications:
- graduated tick level depending on share price
(i.e. .01cent for stocks $10/sh .10cents for stocks $100/sh, etc)
- reinstate circuit breakers that have worked in the past to keep
markets from plummeting.
2) TRANSPARENCY in all transactions should be instituted and enforced. Any honest fiduciary relationship requires adequate disclosure. Brokers should NOT be able to "loan" out an investor's shares without:
a. Express permission of the investor, renewed frequently
b. Instant disclosure to the investor and SEC of the transaction
c. Limit the number of times an individual share can be borrowed for
short
(i.e. once per day to prevent "day trading" by leveraged ETF's, etc)
Laissez-faire regulation/monitoring in the financial industry does NOT support the greater good, our country or the world. I am for smaller, leaner government but one that effectively supports the individual and collective interests of ALL Americans, not just some and not just for the short term.
For America to compete with emerging powerhouses like China and India, we must SET the standards and BE the world leader in commerce and industry.
Capitalism without ethics allows selfishness to run amok.