February 7, 2022
I'm not sure I understand why such things even need to be commented on. But yes. Fraud is bad. Regulators shouldn't be influenced by anybody other than the people they're supposed to be accountable to. Bad actors shouldn't be able to hide everything they're doing. Secrecy in the name of not creating chaos in the short term is fine, within reason, but the amount we'll never know because there is zero accounting for it, is insane.
I would urge politicians and regulators to consider the fact that millions of people bought shares of Gamestop in January 2021. When purchasing of shares was blocked on brokers popular with the WSB crowd it prevented what must have been a catastrophic squeeze in the short term but it only confirmed the thesis and made an awful lot of investors/voters/potentially-massive-taxpayers angry. Further confirmation came when one, possibly two entire floats worth of GME magically evaporated WHILE the stock was running from 480 to 40. Some sold. But many of us, have not just been holding, but buying more ever since. The problem is not going away by itself. Nor will it go away after this is all over if several fundamental issues aren't resolved.
1. There is almost no transparency where bad actors are concerned. They use that to hide what they're doing, rewrite the narrative, and ultimately destroy companies that weren't actually failing and all of the jobs, often innovation/patents, and livelihoods that went away with them. These are the worst kind of parasites we've allowed ourselves to roll over for. The sum of the misery they create is far worse than an isolated violent crime. Stop letting them do it behind closed doors.
2. We have to stop ignoring obvious potential for abuse. How is one conglomerate allowed to be a Market Maker AND a hedge fund AND...? Who thought OTC without any real regulation to prevent the obvious misuse of OTC was a good idea? Who thought marking shares short on the honor system was a good idea? Why is it just the US that's not even trying to ban PFOF right now? Why are we allowing former big players from hedge funds to occupy key positions within the DTCC, FINRA, the SEC? Why does anybody outside of the courts get to control which judges preside over specific cases?
3. Wall Street power players in particular should be restricted from being able to donate to PACs or political campaigns as corporations or individuals. Or it will all just happen again and again.
4. Nobody gets punished. Fines aren't even a non-negligible cost of business. Bad actors should be fined their profits, get handed jail sentences in line with the negative impact they have on countless lives, and removed from any kind of market participation permanently.
5. How are we watching the media/social media, CNBC, Cramer, Cramer's training video on manipulating the market through the media, and not seeing market manipulation?