Short Selling is not the problem

Bear shorters would not be in business if the banks and the like were in business of transparency and honest reporting. The shorts serve a purpose. The often identify the companies that are not being fully truthful with the numbers. The Bull Longs are no different than the shorts, they speculate to drive stock prices. The only reason people are against the shorts is because 401k and mutual funds don't hold short stocks. The system is set up to work for the majority only during expansion. The way mutual funds and 401 k accounts are set up is to encourage buy and hold and it only works in bull markets. The fact that we set up these funds and pay on percentage and not on return we will always have a good deal of destruction of capital during corrections. The system is set up to facilitate growth by using investor capital of average investors based on the "theory" that long term investing is the way to create wealth. It is complete fantasy. The past 10 years are perfect examples of riding the wave up and then riding the wave down with 401 k and mutual funds. If everyone took their money out and had it in savings accounts they would have been much better off over the past 10 years. The exception is for traders and more active investors who take gains continually while the mutual funds push for accumulation of account funds without taking profits.