Professor Joseph A. Grundfest is quoted in a San Francisco Chronicle story about the pros and cons of reinstating the uptick rule. This rule, in force until 2007, was meant to slow down short-sales in the stock market. The San Francisco Chronicle writes:

Investors seem to be hoping that the possible reinstatement of a rule designed to rein in short sellers - those bad news bears who bet against stocks - would put an end to market misery.

The debate over the so-called uptick rule "is at least as much emotional as it is rational," says Stanford Law School professor Joseph Grundfest. "All sides can agree that we are not in the middle of this huge economic downturn because the Securities and Exchange Commission lifted the uptick rule. Putting it back on isn't all of a sudden going to bring back millions of jobs and drive the Dow to 14,000. Let's be realistic."