The problem with short selling is that it adds another dimension to buy and sell, the buy side does not have the same instrument. Not to mention naked shorting which is even worse, that way you don't even have to borrow the shares before you short them. Short selling is a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy.
I applaud the SEC's courageous move to ban short selling. Isn't that brilliant? I wonder why they didn't think of that during the Great Depression.
However, I feel that this valiant effort does not go far enough.
All selling of stocks should be banned. Once you buy a stock, you have to hold it forever.
Sure, this might make the market a little less liquid. But once stock prices can only go up, we'll all be rich!
Or maybe we should just try something simpler: pass a law making it illegal for stock prices to go down.