I may have to stop watching 60 minutes. I damn near had a heart attack tonight. Last week it was Bernie. This week it was disclosure of the fact that our Congressmen and women are expressly excluded from the insider trading law. They can trade in the buying and selling of stock or any other financial transaction without the restraint required by the insider transaction law(s). I just assumed everyone had to abide by the insider transaction law. If any segment of our society should have the law expressly applied to them it should be our congress! We want them to act in our best interests, not in their best interest!
A congressman from the great state of Washington tried to put before the house a bill that in effect that would
disclose financial transactions by our congress on a monthly basis. This would at least point to insider transactions if not in fact make them illegal. He had a grand total of six cosponsors and the bill failed to even be considered. Hell I think insider trading should be made illegal ~ period. No wonder they all leave their elected positions so much richer than before they were elected.
Just think ~ a sitting member of the finance committee has nothing stopping him or her from trading in shares of a bank stock. Or a seating member of the arms services committee has nothing stopping them from investing in a plane manufacturing corporation or a munitions manufacturing company. Or how about the energy commission. The list is endless. It is just mind boggling. I feel naive. I had no idea. Expressly excluded!
How many of you out there knew this and didn't tell me? :-)
