·Popular past posts ·

The ownership society &mdash pwned! One of the basic tenets of capitalism is that owners get to decide things, like who manages their property. Now with far more than half of all Americans invested in the stock market through 401(k) plans and IRAs and direct investments, the SEC wants to cut their rights of ownership off at the knees (WSJ):

A high-stakes battle over shareholder rights, dubbed "proxy access," has become a proxy for something else: the performance of Christopher Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In a party-line vote, the SEC said companies can reject shareholder efforts to put their own director nominees on corporate ballots.* The move set off a storm of criticism from shareholder activists and Democrats, who responded with their sharpest rebukes yet for Mr. Cox.

In the latest twist in a long-running saga, the chairman voted with the 3-1 majority on what has been dubbed the "nonaccess" proposal, even though Mr. Cox said his ultimate goal is to give shareholders broader proxy rights.

"This action will tar his legacy as an antishareholder chairman and essentially now makes him a lame duck," said Richard Ferlauto, director of corporate governance at labor union American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

*In other words, you can own part of a company but have no say in how it's run.

I've said it before and I'll say it again — the GOP is no longer the party of business.

If you want a strong economy, vote Democratic. Otherwise, ur ownership society -- pwned!

{ 9:24 AM }

.