INSIDER TRADING: MORE REASONS TO HATE CONGRESS
Insider trading is against the law and those who practice it hurt us all. If you get caught you face possible fines and real jail time. It damages the integrity of the stock market and it makes it harder to convince new investors who want to learn how to buy stocks that the market is the best place for their money. However, it seems that insider trading is just fine if you are a member of Congress!
It doesn’t seem to matter whether you are Republican, Democrat, Independent, conservative, or liberal: poll after poll shows that all groups strongly disapprove of the job Congress is doing. By many accounts, the representatives we send to Washington D.C. are getting the lowest approval ratings they have EVER gotten.
And now comes a story that I hope picks up some traction because it is important and more proof that Congress is NOT doing the job it should be doing which is to concentrate on making smart decisions and passing legislature that is in the best interests of the people of America. They are there to make our lives better and make our system work. They are NOT there to line their own pockets and do anything they can to stay in power.
Please watch this video about a piece on 60 Minutes which covers how members in Congress are using the knowledge they gain to buy and sell stocks for big gains. Apparently they can do this because it is not “technically” insider trading as they don’t work for any of the companies or have any “official” connection to them. But the truth is that often times they have vital knowledge about an industry or a companies future as they are the ones creating laws and policies that will benefit or hurt them.
Congress is there making the laws: the same laws that can tip the balance for all sorts of businesses. You can’t have the same people that are making the laws and policies then be able to go out and buy the stocks they know will do better because of the laws they just passed! It is incredible that this is allowed and even more incredible that so many in Congress do it. Have they no shame? Well I guess it is clear by now that they don’t.
Our economy is, without a doubt, in bigger trouble than it has ever been for any of us that were born after the Great Depression. It is not only America’s debt and spending that are of such concern but Europe is teetering on disaster and we now have 7 billion people in the world. There is a lot going on and a lot that has to be figured out and overcome before things get better.
This revelation that our Congress people are routinely taking part in what is effectively insider trading is really no surprise. It’s just another log on the fire and nothing that happens really shocks me anymore. It would be nice if we could elect government officials that are moral and do the honest and right things but that appears to be a dream. Do we really need to make it the law that all members of Congress (and higher) put their assets in a blind trust?
