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The legality of Congressional insider trading constitutes an unfortunate gap in securities law.
"Minor waves were created by President Barack Obama’s brush with accusations of financial conflicts of interest as a senator. In 2005, Obama invested $5,000 in a biotech company—and campaign donor—that was trying to create a drug to combat avian flu. According to a New York Times report, Obama “took the lead in a legislative push for more federal spending to battle the disease” just two weeks later. Obama’s investment portfolio was reportedly a blind trust. However, Obama sold his stocks at a loss. Upon learning about his biotech investment and another investment in a campaign donor’s company, Obama immediately traded both away, losing $13,000. Incidentally, Obama is not the only Democrat with presidential aspirations whose investment history has created some speculation about wrongdoing; Hillary Clinton’s 1978 trades of cattle futures, on which she earned a $99,541 profit on a $1,000 initial investment over a ten-month period, have also been a focus of investigation (in addition to jealousy)."
******************************************* To be fair, insider trading is not limited to Obama or Clinton. Politicians of all stripes have enrichened themselves through their political connections.
But:
"The American people expect Members and staffers to work on their [the people’s] behalf and to represent their interests, not to increase the returns on our investments and to fatten stock portfolios."
Very often, Congress has access to market and business environment information as a result of the work they do and the corporate influence that pervades American politics.
Should Congress be held to the same insider trading restrictions as the rest of the investing public?
What say you?
Last edited by AeroGuyDC; 07-13-2009 at 11:59 AM..
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