Eddy,
Since I have no arguments with selling stocks we could agree to let that word go and are left with your contention that short-selling is a normal and necessary aspect of financial markets.
OK, then, here we go.
Isn't a short sale just a sale, where the offsetting purchase happens to occur after the sale, not before? ("Buy low, sell high" - just not in that order.) I see no moral or ethical difference between them, only technical.
I was trying to make a serious point in the last line of my previous post: if you think "the market" (or a particular stock) is going to decline in price, why should you not invest or speculate in that direction? Do you think CBOE should trade only calls, and no puts?
Now I can agree that there are many abusive practices in the markets, especially in the sewer of the OTC-BB. And short-selling by certain types of investors who provide "last resort" financing to struggling companies can be a factor in the decline of the stocks of said strugglers - but not the only one.
And I think those who use unethical or illegal means to influence the price of a stock should be punished. But it works both ways. For every short who spreads unfounded rumors hoping to drive a stock price down, there are hundreds of newsletters and other paid hypesters trying to induce the public to go long some junk so they can dump at a profit. I think they are equally wrong. Do you agree?
Kevin
P.S.
"you were right on target with the key to the stable."
Really? What did I mean? Was I referring to the stables Hercules cleaned out? Perhaps you are aware that long ago there was a TV show about a charming talking horse, whose name was Mr. Ed? I believe he lived in a stable. Or perhaps I had no specific meaning in mind, and was just trying to assemble a lot of words in a way that was suggestive of some deep significance, yet very hard to understand. I suspect I was under the mild influence of fermented beverages at the time, but cannot be sure.
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