October 24, 2021
The connotation of the word, “Recidivist” is well-known. Even the vastly under-educated are aware that both denotatively and connotatively, the term references an individual who repeatedly engages in criminal behavior. Yet, the Securities and Exchange Commission circulated a press release that attached such a description to my name – the name of a person who has never engaged in criminal behavior in his life, nor committed a crime, nor been arrested, convicted, nor imprisoned for a crime. Well, perhaps I should re-state this… I think I may have received a ticket for a traffic violation at one point in my life..
However, my accuser, was the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) – an organization that was established in 1934 for the express purpose of overseeing capital markets so that the devastated United States of the Great Depression could never, ever again reoccur.
In some sense, we can say that the SEC has achieved this goal for despite the 2020 recession, the 2008 – 2009 recession, 2001 recession, the 1990 -1991 recession, the 1980 – 1982 recession, 1973 – 1975 recession, the 1970 recession, and the 1960, 1957, 1953, 1949, and 1945 recession, the devastation of the 1929 – 1938 recession-turned-depression has not re-occurred.
But, the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission has committed the crime of systematically excluding the masses of Americans from capital markets. Relative to access, the SEC has supported the growth of an oligopolistic economy which excludes entry by the poor and the middle class as purchasers of securities. Even more importantly, the SEC limits access to capital markets for all small-and-middle-size businesses.
Such behaviors by the SEC are, indeed, “Recidivist”, and, though legal, an absolute violation of the principles of democracy. As a result of such behavior, the United States, a country that was hailed as the leader of the free world, has now become labeled as a “… flawed democracy (Chandran, January 25, 2017).
Yes, I can hear your cerebral activity asking, “How does access to capital markets relate to the criteria used to rate a democracy? Several criteria serve as the measure of where the U.S. and/or other countries stand in terms of democracy. The criteria used includes: 1) the authenticity of the electoral process; 2) the level of participation of all persons in a pluralistic society; 3) the equitable distribution of civil liberties across all citizens in the pluralistic society; 4) the equitable distribution of civil liberties across all citizens in the pluralistic society; 5) the degree of inclusivity in the functioning and operations of all levels of government; 6) the maintenance of participating governments; and 7) a highly inclusive rather than exclusive political culture.” The SEC fails the democratic test. “How so?” you are now asking.
The answer is a simple one. The absence of access to capital markets in any country generates polarization and decreases the consensus that is so critical to a democracy. The systematic exclusion of females, minorities, middle and lower income groups, Democrats, rural residents, persons without advanced degrees, etc. has shifted America to a point in which 86% of Americans do not directly invest in the stock market!!!!!!!!
Approximately 38% of Americans participate in retirement programs such as 401(k) that do invest in capital markets. In contrast, 90% of persons in the United States whose income levels places them in the top 10% of the population as measured by income and wealth own stock. But, it is important to note that the SEC is the Gate-Keeper that recidivistically keeps capital markets closed to entrepreneurs who want to participate in capital markets by selling stock. The data supportive of such a serious charge is quite abundant. Table 1 below summarizes merely a sample of data that demonstrates the disparate impact of the SEC.
Approximately 2000 businesses in the United States went public so that they could access financial capital markets from 2013 – 2020. Only 18 or 9/10 of 1% of these were female-owned. Stated differently, more than 99% of the businesses were owned by males and not females. If the SEC seeks to promote democratic capital markets, why is its failure so dismal that a mere 2% of the billions of dollars available in capital markets are invested in firms that are owned by females?
Indeed, the SEC advertises its successes in excluding both females and minorities from capital markets. It recently reported to its target audience that well “…less than $70 trillion in global financial assets are managed by minority-owned or woman-owned firms (Bradford H., July 07, 2021) . While such data were released under the guise of the seeking of solutions to its exclusionary practices, it was also an inverted message to those Americans who are positively served by this federal entity exclusionary that it was successful in excluding unwanted populations from participation in capital markets!
In 1996, approximately 8090 companies in the USA were listed on a stock exchange. In 2019, this number dropped to 4266 companies. This represents a decrease of 47.27% (theglobaleconomy.com).
* However, in the over-the-counter market place, the number of companies grew to 11,500 between 2010 and 2021.
* But, the IPO process in general serves as an access route to capital markets only for large, predominantly non-new businesses that are also predominantly owned by very wealthy males of European-descent.
* Newer, smaller companies can gain access to capital markets versus the over-the-counter capital markets.
* The dominance of such a system of stratification is directly linked to SEC policies – policies that are designed to exclude rather than include.
As of February 28, 2020, only eight (8) publicity traded companies were owned by African-descended Americans:
1.) Urban One;
2.) Ping Identity Holding Corp;
3.) Global Blood Therapeutics;
4.) RLJ Lodging; 5.) Sycamore Entertainment Group;
6.) American Shared Hospital Services;
7.) Axsome Therapeutics.
8.) Urban Television Network Corp.
* As of 2016, an estimated 84% of all stocks were owned by the wealthiest top 10% of persons in the United States. This percent had grown from 71% in 2001 to 84% in 2016 – an increase of 18.3%.
* Other data could be cited.
However, the few items stated demonstrate that The Recidivist United States Securities and Exchange Commission controls capital markets. Its “Regulatory and Enforcement” power is such that it can exercise discretion in the applicability of its regulations. For example, on August 6, 2021 the SEC approved NASDAQ’s decision to mandate Board Diversity. But, had the SEC not been an agent for the rich and the non-diverse, the “Board Diversity” mandate would have originated with the SEC and been handed “off” to NASDAQ. Likewise, the SEC refused to mandate that publicly traded companies submit statistics on the employment of workers with one or more disabilities. The SEC did not track their own services to assess whether capital accessibility was improved among all Americans who have been historically excluded from the capital market.
I, Joseph Collins, and my team of loyal and committed staff have, over recent years, : 1.) taught previously excluded Americans regarding the importance of financial literacy and multiple income streams; 2.) Educated “capital markets disenfranchised Americans” regarding how to purchase stock by providing them access to $1 per share stock through our market offerings; 3.) Urged economically disenfranchised persons to apply a stair-step approach to starting and growing mini-businesses; and 4.) Have been publicly critical of the operations of capital markets and the systematic exclusion of numerous groups from these capital markets.
No! I have never committed a crime. However, even under the pretense of wanting to be more inclusive, SEC does not provide supportive services as a necessary accomplice to any programs that are allegedly designed to assist historically excluded groups in accessing capital markets. Despite the absence of services to support the deinstitutionalization of non-democratic capital markets by SEC, PUNCH has added the absolute largest Urban Stockable Base to capital markets in the history of the United States and you, the SEC simply do not like it. In order to terminate this effort, you have spent more dollars seeking to disrupt my efforts than you have on the real capital markets criminals! So, my message to you is, “Dear SEC: You think that by harassing and threatening me, Joseph Collins, I will cease and desist my efforts to include disenfranchised businesses in capital – generating markets? I will not do so for such exclusionary practices are hurting this country which I so dearly love! I will forever seek the inclusion of the poor and disenfranchised in the world of business ownership and in the world of financial capital accessibility since this is the primary and exclusionary roadblock to their economic growth!!”
But in doing so, I will continue to obey man’s laws and the laws of the universe. In this regard, I am a recidivist, should we revise the definition. As a part of that effort, I will continue to track the history of your “enforcement” efforts that disproportionately adversely impact women, minorities, the poor and the middle class! You may impugn my name, but you do not and cannot access my intellect! The more you misuse your powers in your entrapment efforts, the more evidence you will generate of your own dishonesty and anti-democratic, recidivist behavior!!!
You set a trap! You passed regulations that made it appear as if you were seeking inclusion when you are really seeking to expose and depose “Capital Market pioneers”.
The evidence of your absence of insincerity has been made explicit by the fact that even with a more inclusive opportunity, you failed to provide the infrastructure of services needed to support success! The Small Business Administration has already exhibited a template of the government-provided services needed to grow small, and/or minority and/or female businesses.
Admit it! You set us up to fail and to discourage other excluded businesses from even daring to attempt entry into capital markets!!!!
Bradford, H. (July 07, 2021). SEC Panel Approves Diversity and Inclusion Measures, Pensions and Investments.
Chandran, N. (Jan. 27, 2017). U.S. Is No Longer A Full Democracy, EIU Warns, CNBC, cnbc.com.
