They get rid of futures too. That is just gambling.

Companies that are well run do not get bankrupted by short sellers. Often times, short sellers expose frauds. Citron has many times. It seems you have more faith in corporate execs lining their own pockets by using aggressive accounting than the forensic accountants who try to expose frauds and fund themselves by short selling.

If your only option is to buy a stock long, then capital gets misallocated. Each business is measured by their returns on capital, and fundamental investors and activists push management teams to properly run these companies.

Short selling is a vital check on the system. Sure some funds abuse it. But many more shops are irrationally pumping overvalued stocks.

Every major company uses futures to hedge risk. Currency, interest rates, and commodities.

I prefer open and free markets.

denis reads Ebeneezer Scrooge as a hero in the first half of A Christmas Carol

Or is there some requirement they have to show liquidity to cover the short at the current market price?

I wasn't kidding.

I started saying this a few years ago here, and my observation has become more valid with each passing day: We are in the midst of a massive legitimacy crisis wherein our cornerstone social institutions and their leading figures are held in complete and utter contempt by vast sectors of the population.