Immediately ban all stock trading for government employees, along with their spouses/significant others/etc. Government employees should work for the people they’re elected to represent, not hope for an election win so they can fill their pockets by dirty insider trading. For example, many members of Congress have conflicts involving stock trading including:
R-FL) Rep John Rutherford is on the
— Ethics Committee
— House Appropriations Committee
— 152 Stock Trades, making him a Top-10 Congressional Trader
— He bought Raytheon Stock, THE DAY BEFORE Russia Invaded Ukraine
• (R-MS) Rep Michael Guest
— Chairman of the Ethics Committee
— He’s traded hundreds of thousands of dollars in Energy Stocks Before the War in Ukraine… he’s trading in the energy sector, where he has access to more information than almost any other American.
— He’s been buying and making a killing on online gaming stocks
— He bought NVIDIA three days before quarterly earnings
(Via MJTruthUltra on X & Matt Gaetz)
A couple of many many examples. Again, Government employees should work for the people they’re elected to represent… not to line their pockets behind closed doors.
Agreed - and fortunately members of the senate are already trying to address this.
Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) is leading a bipartisan effort to ban members of Congress from trading stocks through the Ending Trading and Holdings in Congressional Stocks (ETHICS) Act. This legislation, co-sponsored by Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Gary Peters (D-MI), prohibits Congress members, along with the President, Vice President, and their families, from owning or trading individual stocks while in office. The bill requires divestment of all covered assets by 2027 and imposes penalties for violations. This effort addresses concerns over potential conflicts of interest and aims to restore public trust by ensuring that elected officials prioritize the public’s interests over personal financial gains.
This act has gained broad bipartisan support and approval from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, marking a significant step forward in efforts to enhance transparency and accountability in government roles. The proposal responds to public demand for ethical reform, as many believe Congress members should not benefit from privileged information they access through their positions.
For more details, you can refer to the official sources on this legislation provided by the offices of Senators Ossoff and Merkley.
