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Congressmembers Tried to Stop the SEC’s Inquiry into FTX

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81–90 of 115 posts

Re: Congressmembers Tried to Stop the SEC’s Inquiry into FTX

#81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>EDIT: lol heaven forbid you propose smaller government with legitimate facts on HN lest you get downvoted How would smaller government have helped the FTX situation rather than make things like that much more common and worse? >The fact that the greatest investor in the US is Nancy Pelosi, AND she actively prevented legislation limiting insider trading by US Congress Members, should tell you that the government is n…

> How would smaller government have helped the FTX situation rather than make things like that much more common and worse? What FTX situation? I have not given a cent to FTX, my kids have not given a cent to FTX, nobody I personally know have lost anything with FTX. More regulation (which in this case I don’t need) will cost me money spent to enable and enforce it. Now, exactly what regulations we need to prevent com…

Regulations don't mean anything if there aren't enough resources to enforce them. You're not going to get those resources with smaller government.

Re: Congressmembers Tried to Stop the SEC’s Inquiry into FTX

#82
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The thing about democracy is, even if the people make a bad choice it's still democracy

From "Teller Reveals His Secrets" ( https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/teller-reveals-h... )... "7. If you are given a choice, you believe you have acted freely. [...] When I cut the cards, I let you glimpse a few different faces. You conclude the deck contains 52 different cards (No. 1—Pattern recognition). You think you’ve made a choice, just as when you choose between two candidates preselected by entrenc…

Wouldn't misinformation also be a similar situation. If you make a choice based on misinformation or incomplete information, is that democracy.

Re: Congressmembers Tried to Stop the SEC’s Inquiry into FTX

#83
post #23

Yes, the crypto world is a hornet's nest, but the non-crypto world is ruled by bankers with an ever-increasing thirst for control over our lives. (Read up about the Fed's new CBDC plans) As far as I'm aware, Monero and cash are the only practical ways to pay anonymously. So, who are worse? The congressmen who (perhaps in this case naively) tried to avoid overregulating crypto, or the remaining congressmen who continu…

They both suck and both should be criticized. But also both crypto and banks are diverse and not all bad.

Re: Congressmembers Tried to Stop the SEC’s Inquiry into FTX

#84
post #56
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If one of the Ds or Rs was flipped, we could all condemn the most-guilty party with great conviction.

I don't know anyone with basic knowledge of Congress who doesn't understand that lobbying heavily influences both parties, although not at all equally.

Possibly, but what percentage of the population actually has the basic knowledge you presume?

Re: Congressmembers Tried to Stop the SEC’s Inquiry into FTX

#85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The thing about democracy is, even if the people abuse their power it's still okay" - well, not much different from a non-violent dictatorship then.

There are plenty of people that are arguing for just that, and they already have the person to put in charge picked.

Maybe that's what they're arguing for, but the people they've picked absolutely would not be non-violent.

Re: Congressmembers Tried to Stop the SEC’s Inquiry into FTX

#86
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Their parties should kick them out and replace them with more principled people.

No matter who you vote for, the government wins every election.

What does this even mean? The government (the elected portion) isn't an entity outside of the people that are elected.

Re: Congressmembers Tried to Stop the SEC’s Inquiry into FTX

#87
post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know anyone with basic knowledge of Congress who doesn't understand that lobbying heavily influences both parties, although not at all equally.

Possibly, but what percentage of the population actually has the basic knowledge you presume?

A large percentage. There's a reason Trump's “drain the swamp” slogan resonated with so many people.

Re: Congressmembers Tried to Stop the SEC’s Inquiry into FTX

#88
post #38

There are politicians and media publications protecting Sam Bankman-Fried's criminality, but these congressmen aren't among them. The letter in this article was written in March. FTX's long-term fraud has only been known since early November.

You don't have to know about specific bad actions to shield the entity that is doing them.

True but it changes the amount of guilt right?

Maybe they were just helping companies donating to then, the letter is about cryptocurrenty in general.

Re: Congressmembers Tried to Stop the SEC’s Inquiry into FTX

#89
post #23

Yes, the crypto world is a hornet's nest, but the non-crypto world is ruled by bankers with an ever-increasing thirst for control over our lives. (Read up about the Fed's new CBDC plans) As far as I'm aware, Monero and cash are the only practical ways to pay anonymously. So, who are worse? The congressmen who (perhaps in this case naively) tried to avoid overregulating crypto, or the remaining congressmen who continu…

Intent matters. Even if these congresspeople are correct that the SEC shouldn't be doing what they're doing, if the reason the congresspeople wrote that letter is because they received "donations" from cryptocurrency companies or PACs, then I think we should still give it some scrutiny.
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