New York Times: Time to Ban Profit-taking Inside Congress
by PubliusFrom The New York Times:
The ghost of George Washington Plunkitt, the 19th-century Tammany Hall boss who cynically defined “honest graft,” is in the air as bipartisan panic suddenly sweeps Congress over an ethical matter that is old news on Wall Street: insider trading.
A long-languishing bill to ban stock trading on inside information that lawmakers glean at private hearings and discussions has begun moving toward passage. The bill was lifted from hibernation by a new study from the Hoover Institution and a report on “60 Minutes” detailing the apparent freedom lawmakers have long enjoyed from the insider trading ban that applies to the rest of America.
The reports question the trading practices of leading legislators in the House like Speaker John Boehner, Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic minority leader, and Spencer Bachus, chairman of the House financial committee, when issues like health care reform and the financial crisis occupied center stage. All deny any wrongdoing but, with many others, are jumping aboard legislation offered five years ago by Louise Slaughter, a Democrat of New York.
Ms. Slaughter first proposed the bill when a Republican staffer privy to inside information was discovered making thousands of day trades from his office. The measure gathered dust and only nine co-sponsors — until the “60 Minutes” report was broadcast Nov. 13. Since then, more than 130 other members have signed up.
That report complemented research by Peter Schweizer of the Hoover Institution tracking the stock profits and legislative activities of lawmakers who wind up millionaires. Earlier university studies had found stock-trading legislators smartly outperforming the market by 6 percent to 12 percent in the 1980s and 1990s.
The potential for trading on insider information from the halls of Congress is undeniable and needs to be policed. Indeed, Congress should have protected itself long ago. The nation should not be at risk of seeing its representatives wallow in the work ethic of Tammany’s Plunkett: “I seen my opportunities and I took ’em.”
Original article here.
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46 Comments
NY Times on the ban…….. Is that a true concern, or are they just looking for their fair share of it now?
There are already laws on the books about this!!!! ENFORCE the laws!!! Put them ALL in jail, minus their benefits!!!!
In other news, another dead body has been found in an OCCUPY encampment.
http://news.yahoo.com/man-dead-occupy-campsite-no...
"Ms. Slaughter first proposed the bill when a Republican staffer privy to inside information was discovered making thousands of day trades from his office."
I know people in the office I work in "corporate" has removed all "games" have a "sniffer" that keeps people from certain sites and then tracks EVERYTHING and EVERYWHERE you go on the internet.
I would imagine most of the work these clowns do during the day on their (the peoples) computers would be very interesting to track……. never will happen, though.
Iam quite certian the forefathers of our country did not intend our citizen legislature to enrich themselves of the backs of the american people
It's time to make all elected officials put their assets in locked trusts while they are in office. Far too many of these useless vermin are simply pigs-at-the-trough. Sunshine is the best disinfectant, all government officials need to publish quarterly updates on their net wealth.
If Congress were the revolving door of Reresentative Citizens that it's supposed to be, we wouldn't have career Politicians taking advantage of their positions. Just serve and get back to your regular job. No Pensions. Career Politicians needs to be non-existent. Return to representative Govt. and the Pelosi's of the world wouldn't exist.
And sad ol' Bernie Madoff rots in prison for stealing from a few… If only he had understood to run for office so he could be immune from prosecution while stealing from us ALL… a much better deal IMO!
WHAT A COUNTRY!!!
.
Turn-about: Via the Bigs, columnist Publius uses New York Times headline as adjunct to his blog post.
Lamestream media = Useful Idiots for New Conservative Media
Why are there so few co sponsors? Seems to me that it should have 535 sponsors already. It is a perfect litmus test for who needs to go first. All of them need an introduction to private life, private practice!
I know you know this but CONgress merely puts on this act like they care and pass another law all for show……. then proceed to ignore that one for themselves.
We are perpetual fools…..
There is no lacking of laws, only following them and a moral compass
Bernie was just an honest crook!
"I would imagine most of the work these clowns do during the day on their (the peoples) computers would be very interesting to track"
Porn and day trading, and I'm not sure if I want to know what particular brand of porn is being viewed on government computers. O_o
With bennys like that I would jealously protect my job too.
They need to pass a law that makes ALL laws passed by Congress applicable to themselves. They seem to be setting themselves up as a modern royalty. If Obamacare, and Social Security are good enough for us, that's what they should get.
A much better solution would be to require all members of Congress to place their investment portfolios in blind trust during their terms of office. Any legislation aimed at curbing Congressional insider trading is going to be riddled with loopholes and exceptions. Millions of taxpayer-funded man-hours will be spent circumventing the law. The blind-trust requirement is the way to go.
Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is also true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on.
John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) Thirty-fifth President of the USA
Sounds like they are trying for a little skin in the game.
Seven of the ten wealthiest counties in America are around DC…why? This is where “We the People,” come in. We must vote, fire, and jail these statist bastards until the balance is restored.
The revolving door needs to be hammered shut.
I wish the Founding Fathers has the foresight to include term limits for the legislative branch. On the other hand, that may have only accelerated the corruption, because these crooks would only have say, two terms to abuse their power, instead of six or seven terms.
If the NY Times is promoting a ban, I must conclude that all of their cronies on the left are already sufficiently rich so that this path to wealth is no longer necessary.
Term limit: twelve total years in congress, period.
Not twelve years in one house plus twelve in another, twelve years TOTAL.
Take away the ability of congress to buy their reelection with taxpayer money.
The NYT does not give a wit about the "doings" What they care about is, it may hurt democraps in the next election.
Why does anyone buy or subscribe to that democrat org ?
Barak Obamah = Goldman Sachs.
How about requiring anyone who works for the government, be they in Congress or the bureaucracy, to CASH OUT of any and all investments other than the house they LIVE IN, and the only thing they are allowed to invest it in are US TREASURIES.
This would do two things.
1. People would no longer have any incentive to work for government their whole lives.
2. Would encourage fiscal responsibility in Washington because if the government defaults on our debt (which will happen unless the budget gets balanced) THEY PERSONALLY lose everything.
How about a 12 total year limit of any sort of payment for in the public sector? Government contractors, staff, welfare, elected officials, etc…
And how about you simply aren't allowed to vote in any election term you've received public funds – in every other venue conflict of interest is always looked out for – why not in our public sector?
No regulation will ever stop bad behavior, it will simply re-direct it. There are an infinite number of ways to circumvent the system, and every regulation will bring in new regulators who are also likely to be corrupted.
The only solution is to limit the amount of power our public 'servants' have – I suggest throttling back to minimum government our constitution demands…
This is a simple problem of ethics. We wouldn't need a law to prevent this if there were any ethics left in Washington. Since there are no ethics left I say make an example of these crooks by stripping them of ALL their money and locking them up. It's only fair since they have stripped our 401Ks for their gains.
I despise the NYT from the bottom of my heart, but every once in awhile they ask the (obvious) right question.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, Bernie just plied his trade in the wrong market – the private one. He should be rehabilitated, as a researcher for prosecution of the criminals in Congress.
See the following for a possible descriptor of our current system since it no longer seems like a Republic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligarchy
True, but how many that have signed on did so to cover their kleptocratic buttz ?
Exactly.The whispers to the friends and family, the three martini lunches with Wall street execs and so on.
The Romanians figured out a quick way to solve their issues with a corrupt government. While I am not suggesting we should follow that example, it is instructive to what can happen when folks get really, really fed up.
Yak, yak, yak.
No. No, no.
Those who gone done it, SEND THEM TO JAIL… I read somewhere that congress members are not at present (then and now) legally immune to perform this particular form of financial rape, but that the problem is getting them prosecuted.
SO PUT IN THE EFFORT, AND GET THEM PROSECUTED!
They gone and done it, so LOCK THEM UP!
Are you all really going to accept that "from now on" the guilty will be punished? Surely you'all see that this is nothing more than yet another example of letting Americas 'Criminal Class' get away with being, well, CRIMINALS!
If you go along with this sort of thing, then you have ZERO right to be called anything except a "Damned Hippie Lover".
These kinds of 'solutions' are nothing more than: "Shove the constitution, shove justice, shove it all where the sun don't shine. Signed, Your Friend, Obama."
Just like Congress to lock the barn doors long after all the horses have escaped.
Criminals will be criminals, which is why Congress exempts itself from a good many
of the "laws" it inflicts on the rest of us. The health care "reform law" comes to mind.
Feel good crap. The boss NEVER punishes himself. More than likely this law will simply hurt the rest of us or will be a some lame well intentioned attempt they know will fail passing.
Time to take a "street sweeper" to Congress. Nothing like the fear of physical pain or worse to enforce integrity. For the un-educated, a street sweeper is a 12 gauge or more with adaptable ammo that includes many forms of destructive ammo. It also has a quick change rotary clip(s). Such is very handy for removing OWS individuals from parks, public road blockers, etc. It's a first cousin to an AC-130 "puff" used in 'Nam, but is hand-held.
I won't waste many words on vicious people who pass laws that they are not required to abide by. Talk is useless for most Congressional critters. Hanging is much too good for them. I won't waste the rope!
It's not enough to just ban profit taking inside CONgress. We have got to figure out a way to ban them from taking any more of our taxes for their wasteful spending.
Forget insider trading, regular Federal Employees can't even own stock in a company if there is any potential conflict with their duties.
Ban ownership of INDIVIDUAL stocks and options and future trading by congress.
They can and should own Index ETFs however.
The idea that a congressperson should be day trading companies they regulate is wrong and should be illegal.
Requiring congresspeople to report transactions of more than $1,000 within 90 days, makes the stock act watered down and worthless. Trading allows information to get into the market and move prices. Because of the increase in the price of a security following public disclosure, Congresspeople "should be required to file forms a few days after every trade, as executives must," and was the original intent.
Get the government out of my insider trading. The Market will pick the winners and losers, not Czar Obama.
Why didn't anyone die at the tea bag rallies? Oh, that's right: they all had Medicare.
An axe between the eyes of a few and you will see how quickly their moral compass gets adjusted. They are cowards first crooks second.
Nothing like the fear of physical pain or worse to enforce integrity. For the un-educated, a street sweeper is a 12 gauge or more with adaptable ammo that includes many forms of destructive ammo. It also has a quick change rotary clip(s). Such is very handy for removing OWS individuals from parks, public road blockers. Greg Tims
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