> Some brokers do let you opt in and out of lending shares.
I'm aware of this, but it's not an option for a retirement account. That's the entire point we're debating, is it not?
> Short sellers cannot drive companies to bankruptcy.
I honestly don't know how you can believe this. If they drive the price so low that the company is unable to manage its debt they are forced to declare bankruptcy, the short sellers never have to close their positions and they keep all of the profit. So not only can they do it, they have a strong financial incentive to do so.
> If they drive the price so low that the company is unable to manage its debt
....that's a bit like saying short selling costs lives, because if short sellers drive the price so low that the headquarters catches fire, people might die in the flames.
See, the problem here is that driving a share price down doesn't stop you from managing your debt. Which is a key reason why there are no documented cases of short sellers driving healthy companies into bankruptcy.
You moved the goalposts from "it's impossible for shortsellers to bankrupt a company" to "it's impossible for shortsellers to bankrupt a healthy company." Rather than continue to argue and get nowhere, let's just disagree.
Okay, let's steelman the argument then. Short selling a company's shares cannot bankrupt the company. Happier?
(Again, I say this because there is no theoretical mechanism by which selling stock short can realistically cause bankruptcy - contrived examples to the contrary. And we know they're contrived examples because it's never actually happened.)
I'm aware of this, but it's not an option for a retirement account. That's the entire point we're debating, is it not?
> Short sellers cannot drive companies to bankruptcy.
I honestly don't know how you can believe this. If they drive the price so low that the company is unable to manage its debt they are forced to declare bankruptcy, the short sellers never have to close their positions and they keep all of the profit. So not only can they do it, they have a strong financial incentive to do so.