The SEC is silencing shareholders — and Wall Street will pay the price

For more than 80 years, shareholders of companies have had the right to put forth proposals or recommendations on a host of issues, urging the company to take specific actions.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Division of intends to gut that rule, known as Rule 14a-8, in a systematic effort to weaken the institutional infrastructure that gives investors the voice to engage directly with companies they own. Such a move would limit the rights of shareholders and hurt the free market built on these very foundations.