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SobeysBags t1_isu49up wrote

Can someone explain to me how insider trading is legal or tolerated if you are member of congress, but outside of DC we send Martha Stewart to prison?

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Logan_W_Logan t1_isu7nfn wrote

It’s already against the law. STOCK Act of 2012. They all just ignore it

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CumBubbleFarts t1_isuempv wrote

They gutted that law as soon as it was passed. There is essentially no transparency, no real way to gather information about who is trading what. This article explains the changes that they made to the law a year after it was passed. It went from an electronic catalogue of anything that needed to be disclosed to a physical paper copy version that you need to physically be in Washington to access. The original law required the creation of a searchable online database of disclosed trades, the amendment completely removed that.

And people bitch about a lack of bipartisan support for legislation... This amendment passed UNANIMOUSLY in the house and senate. Unanimously.

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Random-Rambling t1_isui2ej wrote

>"...to a physical paper copy version that you need to physically be in Washington to access."

Reminds me of that one line in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy where Arthur found the paperwork declaring his house was to be bulldozed...in the basement of the city hall, in a dark, dusty bathroom, stuffed in the bottom drawer of a filing cabinet in an out-of-order bathroom stall.

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curtludwig t1_isusygt wrote

This headlines my contention that all politicians are sleazeballs and the only way to do right for our country is to vote them ALL out.

Nobody ever wants to really do it "Oh, my guy is okay" yeah, well he/she isn't...

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DrGordonFreemanScD t1_isxauuf wrote

The only person qualified to do the job is the one who doesn't want it.

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curtludwig t1_isxlax2 wrote

Too right. Desire to obtain the job proves they're not qualified.

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wessex464 t1_isu80fu wrote

More like no one can prove it.

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Squidworth89 t1_isu9b98 wrote

Which would be the inherent issue regardless of whatever act they sign.

It's easier to prove insider trading on the company level. On the policy level that's much more challenging.

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anxiouslyaverage t1_isuzcba wrote

I love how it stands for Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge 2012, don’t love how it hasn’t been enforced…

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Squidworth89 t1_isu50uc wrote

Insider trading is a legal term. The laws exempt congress; therefore it isn't technically insider trading.

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mhb20002000 t1_isua953 wrote

Wrong. Insider trading is illegal for everyone. Insider trading happens when you have knowledge gained from your inside position and you use that information to trade in. An example would be a Ford employee knows that they are about to recall a bunch of cars and shorts the Ford stock. This is illegal for everyone.

What Jared and other Congress members are backing is a ban on trading stocks period (some allow for blind trusts) because Congressmen and women learn information that would impact the markets generally and not necessarily a particular stock. I.e. February 2020 COVID is really bad and US economy may shut down like China when it gets here.

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Squidworth89 t1_isuemgz wrote

It’s easy to prove that ford employee knew the stock would tank.

It’s not so easy to prove a politician knows a stock is going to move.

Banning equities is idiotic. It’ll only disincentives people from running. The already wealthy people will still get around it.

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MaineHippo83 t1_iswo2ke wrote

They can invest in mutual funds or use a blind trust. Actively trading stocks of say chip manufacturers when you or your spouse is voting on the CHIPS bill should absolutely be illegal

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Squidworth89 t1_isx8ckl wrote

Your vision is narrow as well as understanding of the matter.

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Downrightregret t1_isy9nmx wrote

When the crooks are making the rules and letting each other ignore and violate them with impunity, this is what happens

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Silktrocity t1_isvi2tv wrote

Because the people taking advantage of it are the people responsible for passing laws lol

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Beasagdeux t1_isy511g wrote

Because when they made the insider trading law... they were careful to make sure it didn't restrict the members of Congress.

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