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Congress Needs to Stop Day Trading, Says Sen. Mark Warner

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Re: Congress Needs to Stop Day Trading, Says Sen. Mark Warner

#61

How is it acceptable for them to engage in these activities while on the job? It should be illegal based upon their job duties. During office hours, and while at the office, like everyone else, they should be required to carry out their job duties and not engage in personal or outside activities. Trading stocks and the like has nothing to do with their job and should not be done while at your job. If a congress perso…

Spoken like a truly horrible manager.

Re: Congress Needs to Stop Day Trading, Says Sen. Mark Warner

#62

How is it acceptable for them to engage in these activities while on the job? It should be illegal based upon their job duties. During office hours, and while at the office, like everyone else, they should be required to carry out their job duties and not engage in personal or outside activities. Trading stocks and the like has nothing to do with their job and should not be done while at your job. If a congress perso…

They aren't necessarily trading on the clock. Just making trades based on information nobody else has that they only have access to because of their job.

Re: Congress Needs to Stop Day Trading, Says Sen. Mark Warner

#63
post #28

Members of Congress make ~$174k/yr. [1] It will be an unpopular opinion, but I believe that we should pay better (and demand better) for a job with that much responsibility. Otherwise, a congressperson will be forever tempted to align their incentives with service to causes other than their electorate. I'm fairly certain we should be paying our elected officials at least as much as our football coaches. [1] https://w…

It has been proven multiple times, that already very well paid company managers, will accept bribes for small amounts of money and petty motives.

Integrity is not connected to how well someone is paid. Reckless behavior for minor motives that makes people risk careers of years, family responsibilities, seems the norm for some individuals.

I collect these cases, as they fascinate me on what they say about human nature.

I am still trying to find out if these individuals end up on those roles because of that unhinged behavior, or getting into these roles is what intoxicates their moral judgement, despite many years of successfully running professional careers.

In other words, your strategy will not work.

Re: Congress Needs to Stop Day Trading, Says Sen. Mark Warner

#64

How is it acceptable for them to engage in these activities while on the job? It should be illegal based upon their job duties. During office hours, and while at the office, like everyone else, they should be required to carry out their job duties and not engage in personal or outside activities. Trading stocks and the like has nothing to do with their job and should not be done while at your job. If a congress perso…

I absolutely think this should be banned but they (and their staffers) don't have real workplaces. Sure, there's the office but a ton of their work is meetings, talking to constituents, travel between their district and DC, etc. and many of them put in 80+ hour workweeks. Trying to put them in the bucket of an average 9-5 person with a set workspace doesn't work.

Re: Congress Needs to Stop Day Trading, Says Sen. Mark Warner

#65
post #28

Members of Congress make ~$174k/yr. [1] It will be an unpopular opinion, but I believe that we should pay better (and demand better) for a job with that much responsibility. Otherwise, a congressperson will be forever tempted to align their incentives with service to causes other than their electorate. I'm fairly certain we should be paying our elected officials at least as much as our football coaches. [1] https://w…

Agreed. A salary that would allow them a decent quality of life while having to maintain at least 2 residences (DC and their home district) is absolutely required. Money is deferred time: we want politicians to focus fully on serving the people not trying to balance their household budgets.

The cheaters are going to cheat anyways. The politicians who are inclined to do the right thing: let’s make it easier for them.

Re: Congress Needs to Stop Day Trading, Says Sen. Mark Warner

#66
post #41
post #28

Members of Congress make ~$174k/yr. [1] It will be an unpopular opinion, but I believe that we should pay better (and demand better) for a job with that much responsibility. Otherwise, a congressperson will be forever tempted to align their incentives with service to causes other than their electorate. I'm fairly certain we should be paying our elected officials at least as much as our football coaches. [1] https://w…

For what is worth, if they get even less compensation and more limitations it might become even less lucrative for capable individuals which I'm honestly not sure if it won't make things even worse as it leads to both less misaligned incentives but also worse quality talent. You can't get anywhere near a top-notch CEO for their salaries, why would you expect to get a top-notch Congressman?

I think you're mixing up your branches. Congressmen are legislators, not executives. How much does a board member cost? :)

Re: Congress Needs to Stop Day Trading, Says Sen. Mark Warner

#67
post #28

Members of Congress make ~$174k/yr. [1] It will be an unpopular opinion, but I believe that we should pay better (and demand better) for a job with that much responsibility. Otherwise, a congressperson will be forever tempted to align their incentives with service to causes other than their electorate. I'm fairly certain we should be paying our elected officials at least as much as our football coaches. [1] https://w…

or just make the consequences for abusing power so drastic that power hungry psychopaths don't run for public office which would be far more effective. The main reason congress is corrupt is because they make the rules and know they will only ever get a slap on the wrist.

Make any form of corruption by congress automatic death penalty and congress would clean itself up pretty quick because the type of scum who go into politics to make money would look for easier targets where their life isn't at risk

Of course the problem with this is who enforces the law and how do you stop them from being corrupt themselves. The obvious answer to the root problem is to have the smallest government possible to limit centralization of power and ability for mass corruption

Re: Congress Needs to Stop Day Trading, Says Sen. Mark Warner

#68
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've got a slight improvement to your idea. Instead of publishing the trades after, or as they make them, instead publish them before they make them. Require any congress-person who wishes to trade a stock to write a plan saying "I will buy/sell roughly this many dollars worth of these shares on this date", and require the plan to be published a week before the trade is executed. We already require CEOs and company o…

When I worked in a financial trading firm, I had to submit trades that I would make 3 days before hand and then get them approved to make sure I had no relationship to that stock. The same seems fine with me for any government official. Make a trade request, gets published publicly, a legal body reviews and allows or denies.

This makes perfect sense to me and there are oversight bodies within congress, the folks on the house modernization committee could probably whip up a tool too. Just has to be the will to do so & I'm not sure there's enough outrage on the issue.

Re: Congress Needs to Stop Day Trading, Says Sen. Mark Warner

#69

How is it acceptable for them to engage in these activities while on the job? It should be illegal based upon their job duties. During office hours, and while at the office, like everyone else, they should be required to carry out their job duties and not engage in personal or outside activities. Trading stocks and the like has nothing to do with their job and should not be done while at your job. If a congress perso…

The problem isn't that they're doing something other than their job, it's that they have insider information, and they're using that insider information to buy and sell stocks.

Re: Congress Needs to Stop Day Trading, Says Sen. Mark Warner

#70
post #22

We will see a black hole evaporate via Hawking radiation before a bill such as this becomes law. The United States Senate is the body representing the capitalists/landed gentry/aristocracy/etc., and from my amateur reading of US history it always has been. The House is only slightly better. There may be politically powerful voices which speak out on issues such as these, but only briefly. Tomorrow will be a new crisi…

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