Ed says:
“Many voters also see members of Congress as knaves. Witness the recent piece on60 Minutes on CBS-TV about two weeks ago reporting on members of Congress who, while enacting laws bearing upon the stock market, used inside information — not available to the public — to purchase or sell stocks, making profits in the millions in some cases. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi was alleged to be one such member. Apparently, members of Congress are not subject to insider information restrictions that apply to everyone else. It seems to me there is an easy way to prevent that abuse. Congress should require its members to place their stock portfolios in blind trusts, so members cannot use their insider information for themselves or others. Also passing whatever laws are needed to apply existing insider information rules to Congress, as well as the public.”
The full story is here.
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STOCK Act Faces Uphill Battle, And Doesn’t Go Nearly Far Enough
by Peter Schweizer on November 24, 2011
in Commentary, Media
MSNBC offers an important analysis of what is going on in Washington over the problem of congressional insider trading. As they point out, the big problem is going to be enforcing the law. The bottom line however is that the STOCK Act in my opinion does not go nearly far enough. It will not stop lucrative IPOs which are simply a form of legal bribery, and the act will do nothing about land deals. And do we honestly think that the Securities and Exchange Committee (SEC) or any agency is going to take on a powerful member of congress?
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