Include family members. Treat subjects of insider trading for public officials exactly as we do bribery.
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Not just trading or stocks but SUSPEND ALL earning activity other than Federal salary During the terms and no financial contribution from ANY company or business other than their own afterward. They could however do speeches and seminars, run their own companies and even work for others, but if it was found to need compensation or kickback from actions taken while in office it should come with exceedingly stiff financial penalty and Stiff jail time.
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There is a simple way to prevent elected officials and bureaucrats (and their families) from getting rich off insider trading while allowing them to still buy and sell stocks.
Here it is: They would be required to LOCK IN their trade (meaning they CANNOT back out of it), but it can’t be EXECUTED for X number of business days. Now their stock broker et al. know the trade they’re going to make and can recommend that clients make that trade before those officials’ trade is executed. And, by the time that trade IS executed, the benefit of the insider information is gone.
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Also ban immediate family members (i.e. Paul Pelosi)
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I second this. As someone who has worked in banking for over 20 years and trading for the last 4, I am appalled that Congress or anyone in government is able to openly trade without restrictions. My whole immediate family and I must file for compliance approval to trade anything outside of an actively managed fund, and we have a list of certain companies that we can’t own stock. All other employment and non profit board memberships have to be approved. Congress should be as restricted as employees in banking, if not even more restricted, because they know all the insider information before it goes public.
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Proposed acronym:
AKA: The Anti-Kickback Act
Since serving in government is service related maybe we should have a policy that any wealth built related to this service be taxed at 100%. Make it that if you serve too long you’ll go broke.
I was under the impression this was already banned, but because of massive corruption in our Congress, they tend to look the other way prison time now
More importantly stricter punishment for those caught trading
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Taking the power away from our federal officials except for those enumerated in article one of the Constitution would lessen their ability to pass or stop legislation that might affect an industry or company
Congress, presidents, etc and their family members should have to convert all of their stocks into approved index funds. Funds that track the overall performance of the stock market. Members of congress should be able to invest and earn returns but their funds should follow the performance of the American economy, not that of individual stocks that are controlled/affected by government policy. Furthermore members of congress, presidents, etc should be banded from short selling and buying futures.
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Yes! Agree 100%
For House and Senate members that would not be good enough. They are buying and selling based on more than just insider information. Ex 1 - Pelosi having her husband sell off Visa Stock 2 months prior to DOJ filing a lawsuit. Pelosi and other Senate members would have known of the investigation and she waited until right before charges went public. EX 2- Senate members holding/buying stocks in weapon/defense contracts. They then can push partisan funding to those companies, indirectly paying themselves. This is one reason why we have a proxy war using Ukraine. Some members are war-mongers because they directly benefit from conflict. EX-3 Senators investing in solar companies and lithium before passing “green-deal” laws that expand the use of solar companies. Solar, wind and EV use batteries made with lithium to store excess energy.
NO ONE should have the ability to abuse this! I believe that all public servants (mayor, governor, senate, house, DOJ, president, etc.) should be restricted to keeping only what they had before their election (with restrictions on selling while in office) or can only invest in 401k NestEgg-type accounts that are available to all levels of the public.
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And anyone who is family and close friends and if someone is proven to be giving information or influences on the market they should be stripped of office and prosecuted as a civilian
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I would suggest you can keep what you came in office with. You can keep it or sell I but you can’t purchase mor or any new stocks.
I don’t think it’s un American to expect the civil servants whom we vote into a position of power to not be able to profit off of trading stocks in which they have direct influence over policies which can effect the price. If they are allowed to have stocks in office, then there has to be a mechanism for which we can keep them from using their power to gain wealth. What exactly the answer is I’m currently not sure. Realistically the only thing that comes to mind would be to prevent them from ownership of stock in any company while in office, by them or any immediate family. If it’s a matter of finances, then I would say we could approve a pay increase to point. However, people should not get into public service out of greed, but rather a love of country.
That would be a great start but it will never get off the ground with the corrupt DOJ.
Simple solution, members of government lose their 4th amendment protections during term, investigate their family from the representatives communications
Stock and other financial transactions by members of congress, the executive branch, the judiciary, and all other government employees shall require thirty (30) day public announcement and publication before such trade shall take place and be consummated. Such notice shall expire forty-five days after publication. This requirement shall extend to any transaction which benefits the principle party including, but not limited to family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers. Violations of this law shall be subject to the penalties enumerated within the insider trading laws along with the forfeiture of the invested amount plus any profit. These funds shall be deposited into the Social Security account.
The above is my proposal in the economy
And their businesses and their family members