Congressional insider trading is a major issue for me. Politicians waste our tax dollars and make empty promises to stay in power. Remember that congressman who tweeted pics in his underwear? Or Elliot Spitzer’s scandals? When they have too much power, they let us down. So why do people still support bigger government? Do you really want some government agency controlling everything you do and taking your money?
Recently, 60 Minutes did a great segment on how Congress members can trade stocks based on info they get from bills they vote on. It’s crazy! Like, if you’re on the Healthcare Committee about to pass a law, you can short hospital stocks knowing the bill will force hospitals to cover $5,000 of expenses. That’s straight-up insider trading!
So why does this happen when regular folks would go to jail for doing the same? It’s because we, the public, apparently want our Congress folks to get rich. Otherwise, we’d elect people who’d make laws to stop this. I’m surprised more people aren’t outraged about it.
We feel bad that our Congress members, earning only $174,000 a year, need extra perks. Never mind that most of us make way less than that. And yet, they’re worth billions collectively! But hey, America loves big government, right? Otherwise, we’d have less waste and more efficiency.
It’s shocking that we allow this kind of insider trading. Why do we let the powerful play by different rules? Could you resist making a fortune from inside information, legally, like they do?
