This article has been scrubbed from Bloomberg Markets' website, along with much of the entire internet.
It speaks to the general corruption found throughout much of Wall Street and is an excellent source to be aware of for both for yourself and others - giving staunch credibility to the general theses much of this (and other) communities have been working on.
"In a little-known quirk of Wall Street bookkeeping, when brokerages loan out a customer’s stock to short sellers and those traders sell the stock to someone else, both investors are often able to vote in corporate elections.
With the growth of short sales, which involve the resale of borrowed securities, stocks can be lent repeatedly, allowing three or four owners [or more] to cast votes based on holdings of the same shares.
The Hazlet, New Jersey–based Securities Transfer Association, a trade group for stock transfer agents, reviewed 341 shareholder votes in corporate contests in 2005. It found evidence of overvoting—the submission of too many ballots—in all 341 cases."
Shareholders and the associated corporations/companies can be taken over / misguided / misled / duped by way of sham voting via short-selling and the subsequent counterfeit/phantom shares - where and when elections may result in highly questionable policies/decisions implemented, as well as an installation of corrupt officials & board members, resulting in dubious business-practices wherein ulterior motives are rampant, along with the potential creation of a lobbying, bribing, and (frankly) psychopathic organization.
Indeed, that's what has been happening.
When we hear talk about "corporations having too much power!" - this article speaks to one of the main mechanisms making that possible.
I've long been aware that the system is flawed, yet the extent of its dysfunction is far greater than I imagined. The pervasive control exerted by those in power is evident, demonstrating a blatant disregard for our well-being as they continuously drain our vital energy. Our very souls seem to be bound to the materialistic value of money.
It's alarming to consider the countless lives lost over time through systematic attrition. This begs the question: how did virtuous individuals in the past fail to address these issues?
What we require is not merely a reform of the existing system, but the creation of a new one, specifically designed to rectify these deep-rooted problems.
Hear, hear.
I feel your anguish and disgust.
Not sure how we got here. It's hard to understand in some respects. In others, I guess it's a tale as old as time: power corrupts thoroughly and completely. :/
All the more reason we ('we' being all life on the planet) truly need - and are working towards and will have - a far, far, far more decentralized economy, marketplace, and more.