Dear Editor,
Stabroek News’ editorials are always stellar and on point. However, the one published on January 30 titled `Bringing down the house’ was wide off the mark. The writer started out with a very good synopsis of the recent developments regarding the triumph of small investors over institutional investors of very rich hedge funds in relation to shorting stocks like GameStop. The writer then proceeded to locate the actions of the small investors into the narrative of “anti-elitism” and “Trumpism” (i.e. the stench left from the Trump presidency). While the former might be true in terms of taking on the elites, the latter suggestion that the actions of the small investors are “irrational” and encourages “destructive brinksmanship” that is influenced by the Trump presidential legacy is ludicrous.
While Trump has appealed to large groups of Americans with unfounded conspiracies that have influenced mass uprisings, the example used by the writer is flawed and leaps to an unsupportable conclusion.
Mass uprisings are not a new phenomenon and certainly not only influenced by the Trump presidency. In this case, the actions of the small investors were motivated by ethical considerations of right and wrong and retaliating against the rich and powerful, which have long gamed a corrupt system of ‘shorting’ on Wall Street.
Yours faithfully,
Clinton Urling
