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Many believe it's time to do away with lawmakers making stock trades

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Re: Many believe it's time to do away with lawmakers making stock trades

#111

Post by pclmulqdq »

giantg2 wrote: post #35

It's the most blatant example of insider trading. Company insiders might have inside access to a single company. Lawmakers have access to inside information that can affect the entire industry or market. It's a perfect example of how we do have class stratification in society and that rule of law and equality are laughably distant ideas in a sea of hypocrisy.

I think the cleanest law here is to change the law to clarify that non-public information gained by public servants and representatives that can have an affect on a stock's price should be treated as "material non-public information." Then the SEC can do their jobs like they do with other insider traders.

Remember that ONLY elected congresspeople are exempt from rules like that. Other public servants are not. This is one of the biggest signals that the US is an oligarchy and not a democracy.

Re: Many believe it's time to do away with lawmakers making stock trades

#112

Post by barrenko »

Causality1 wrote: post #106

Holding any elected position should come with a lifetime ban against holding stock in any publicly traded company, full stop. Congressman, president, sheriff, county commissioner, I don't care. Either you're a public servant or you aren't. My position in the government wasn't even an elected one and I still believe the oath I took is fundamentally incompatible with holding stock.

Really, all of our political problems were more or less solved in ancient Rome.

Re: Many believe it's time to do away with lawmakers making stock trades

#113

Post by dtech »

nearbuy wrote: post #101
flatiron wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They should be allowed to go in something like an S&P 500 index fund. But personally I have blackout dates trading my own company stock why don’t they have any restrictions?

Investing in an index fund might even incentivize them to ensure the economy as a whole does well.

Incentivizing that large public companies do well, not quite the same.

Re: Many believe it's time to do away with lawmakers making stock trades

#114

Post by pwthornton »

Causality1 wrote: post #106

Holding any elected position should come with a lifetime ban against holding stock in any publicly traded company, full stop. Congressman, president, sheriff, county commissioner, I don't care. Either you're a public servant or you aren't. My position in the government wasn't even an elected one and I still believe the oath I took is fundamentally incompatible with holding stock.

A lifetime ban seems a bit extreme. I can see a ban on activities while in office and perhaps a little after, but a lifetime is a long time in the stock market.

US officials should be investing in broad market index funds. It would allow them to still reap the benefits of owning stocks without the conflicts of interests. They should be betting on America, not individual companies.

And without insider knowledge, they would have basically no chance of beating — or even competing — with index funds long term.

Re: Many believe it's time to do away with lawmakers making stock trades

#116

Post by cameronhowe »

koheripbal wrote: post #52
_wldu wrote: post #23

We should also do away with the steak dinners, golf trips and other 'perks' that lobbyists/vendors give them in exchange for votes.

So meetings can not take place over a meal? ...or are you specifically saying they can only order certain dishes? Maybe we should force all meetings with politicians to take place on the floor of a mcdonalds. No chairs - that would be too fancy.

Of courses they can, you just have to pay for your own meal.

What are you trying to achieve with your sarcasm?

If you have a job you can probably have a look at your ethics or anti corruption guidelines for a good idea of what is appropriate.

Re: Many believe it's time to do away with lawmakers making stock trades

#117

Post by giantg2 »

TomGullen wrote: post #71
giantg2 wrote: post #35

It's the most blatant example of insider trading. Company insiders might have inside access to a single company. Lawmakers have access to inside information that can affect the entire industry or market. It's a perfect example of how we do have class stratification in society and that rule of law and equality are laughably distant ideas in a sea of hypocrisy.

I'd be more concerned that if a law maker had a million of Tesla stock and Tesla lobbied them, it would take someone with concrete morals to not factor in their potential gains. Humans are not great at making decisions without considering their own incentives - you can trick yourself and your subconscious can sway you.

The people with the best morals/ethics understand the subconscious part and remove themself from the situation by not holding individual stocks in that capacity. As a society, I would hope we could do a similar thing and legislate it as a requirement.

Re: Many believe it's time to do away with lawmakers making stock trades

#118

Post by Kranar »

koheripbal wrote: post #52
_wldu wrote: post #23

We should also do away with the steak dinners, golf trips and other 'perks' that lobbyists/vendors give them in exchange for votes.

So meetings can not take place over a meal? ...or are you specifically saying they can only order certain dishes? Maybe we should force all meetings with politicians to take place on the floor of a mcdonalds. No chairs - that would be too fancy.

It's already illegal for lobbyists to pay for dinners or meals of any kind, including at a McDonald's.

Re: Many believe it's time to do away with lawmakers making stock trades

#119

Post by merrywhether »

WaitWaitWha wrote: post #94
merrywhether wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or give lobbyists more power over the revolving cast of lawmakers who each want to cash in during their short window of opportunity.

Apologies, but I am unclear if you are facetious or serious. (not native English writer.) Can you explain what you mean?

Sure, sorry for being a little curt.

It’s possible that were politicians only in seat for a short period, some of them would succumb to the incentive to “make the most of it” personally. Since this would leave lobbyists as the most “senior” people on Capitol Hill with the most experience managing these interactions, they’d be able to optimize for providing lucrative payouts to these short-timer politicians.

I’m not saying this is guaranteed, just that there are incentives toward that outcome and also that experience gives power in “repeated game” scenarios. A converse example of this is the lifetime appointment for judges, ensuring them stability to help minimize the appeal of maximizing short-term gains.

Re: Many believe it's time to do away with lawmakers making stock trades

#120

Post by [deleted] »

neom wrote: post #108
ramblenode wrote: post #88

Before the STOCK Act passed, Congress outperformed the market by 20%, with some senior Republican leaders doing as well as 35% [0,1]. Before the pandemic began in the US, 4 US Senators were picking up medical stocks after closed-door briefings. Investigations were opened by the DOJ, but they were all dropped. [0] https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/congress-i... [1] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/1…

Is there a Congress ETF?

[deleted]
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