Legalizing Insider Trading

As a small investor, I must respond to the fallacious arguments presented by Fein and Meese. They argue for the abolishment of all SEC laws prohibiting insider trading of stocks and other securities. Contrary to their belief, insider trading is not the innocuous practice they would have your readers believe. Illegal activities such as insider trading benefit the wealthy to the tune of billions of dollars a year, at the expense of small individual investors.

The stock manipulators and speculators of the 1980s, along with the crash of October, 1987, caused millions of small investors to flee the market. Instead of deregulation, government agencies and Congress should enact new rules and regulations which promote market stability and a more level playing field.

In their world of deregulation, Fein and Meese suggest that stockholders could provide a deterrent to exorbitant insider profits by voting for restrictions on insider trading. May I remind them that the votes of stockholders are not counted as one-man, one-vote but are tabulated proportionally, based on the number of shares owned. It is ludicrous to suggest that the people who control the majority of the votes, i.e., corporate insiders and institutional investors, the same people who have access to the best inside information, would vote to lighten their own pocketbooks.

Meese, a dismal failure as attorney general, once again has proven his inadequacy as a columnist.

JOHN S. HORVATH

Long Beach