Sep. 2, 2022
September 2, 2022 Hello, I would like to comment on these proposed rules. In a nutshell, they seem to make little sense to those of us who remember the days when proxy statements were much shorter, and therefore much more ecologically friendlier. Nowadays, my mailbox is crammed with 100+ page proxy statements filled with these stockholder proposals who are getting their 15 minutes of fame by becoming published authors of proposals that get the company involved in a host of costly activities having no bearing on their businesses and why? Because someone with a few dollars of stock felt compelled to make a statement and have the rest of us read it and vote on it? I see the process as akin to the tail wagging the dog--totally unnecessary Instead of pestering shareholders with these individuals' pet issues, I suggest that the whole process be abolished and replaced with company sponsored websites on the world wide web, where shareholders can just go in and share their views with each other -- much like a chat room or an Instagram page. People who want to make a name for themselves can lead discussion groups on topics they are interested in, or contribute to those topics, or set up topics of their own, without having to have the rest of us having to see their ideas in the proxy statements, and, more importantly, without having to have the company pay mucho dinero to cut down so many extra trees to print and distribute these materials each year to us, only to have those materials promptly trashed, or recycled, if we're lucky. My chat room idea will also keep the companies' legal expenses down because they would not have to go in and monitor the chat room. Whatever happens in the chat room, stays in the chat room, so to speak, and each person who gains entry is free to voice his/her/their voice any way they see fit without any need for moderation. If each stockholder is given full and fair opportunity to write what they want about their ideas, they can do so without the rest of us having to waste our time casting our votes in favor of or against their ideas. I see this solution as equivalent to allowing our pets to relieve themselves on as many fire hydrants as they want, as many times as they want to, free of any moderating interference. This way, all ideas can be raised amongst the stockholders, and there would be a great savings by companies who would not have to do anything other than provide the bandwidth to collect and store this information for a few years. If anything on the website is deemed newsworthy, the press would have free access to read and report on it without interference. This is the hallmark of a free society. In contrast, all of this hokum about what is and what is not permitted in a stockholder proposal can be avoided, the SEC can fulfill its mission of providing open forums for stockholders who wish to water the various fire hydrants, and there would be no extra expenses to retain legal beagles to fight with the stockholders and then have the SEC arbitrate disputes on these matters, which the company should be insulated from. With all of these regulations eliminated, the companies can go back to their roots, and do what they need to make money for the stockholders and to pay out cash dividends to us. I say enough already with this stuff. Let's get back to basics and jettison these regulations, not expand them Thank you.