obscurestar
Robert ReichThe stock portfolios of more than two dozen members of Congress outperformed the market in 2024.
This isn't due to luck or skill.
Lawmakers can use privileged information to trade stocks while they’re supposed to be working for you.
Andrew J Spaulding@rbreich Clearly, some of the Congress people have been doing this for some time now. No particular party.
Mark vW
ferricoxide@rbreich
Being in the House or Senate were never meant to be careers. They were meant to be service positions. Now we have people that hold office for 30+ years and are self-dealing (and becoming less and less in touch with their voters) that entire time.
Yes, I realize I'm nearly two hundred years late with this complaint.
Being in the House or Senate were never meant to be careers. They were meant to be service positions. Now we have people that hold office for 30+ years and are self-dealing (and becoming less and less in touch with their voters) that entire time.
Yes, I realize I'm nearly two hundred years late with this complaint.
Walt Mankowski@rbreich If I can put my data science hat on for a second, that’s not *necessarily* bad. If you plotted the performance of all their portfolios and they’re really not cheating, I’d expect it to look like a normal distribution centered at 0. If enough of them are playing the market, 24 people making money might be just be random noise. Are they outperforming it by so much that they’re outliers? How many portfolios are underperforming the market?
Bill Zaumen@waltman @rbreich Yoiu can also look at the timing of decisions they made regarding with their portfolios and compare that to tihe times at which congress did something that would affect the values,. That would help determine if it was just a lucky break or if they may have used insider information.
Paul Healey@rbreich Politicians work for their parties and their parties work for those who finance them, so never the people. To work for the people, their interests must have the right to elect those who represent and delegate for each of them. Party divide and control is a negative-sum game that only profits those who benefit from more inequality and injustice! #FakeDemocracyDivides
#GenuineDemocracyUnites
#GenuineDemocracyUnites
Jeffandthekid@rbreich It is, after all, The American Way!
Angus McIntyre@rbreich @pluralistic When I worked for a 9-person fintech startup, I was not allowed to buy or sell stocks without prior approval from the Compliance Officer, who received copies of my portfolio statements each month for verification. Because the firm's minuscule trading activity might conceivably ”move the market”, & I might conceivably hear something about our plans that I could use to my advantage.
Congresspeople & presidents are free to do whatever they want.
Szescstopni
Wade Roberts@angusm @rbreich @pluralistic I propose the separation of bank and state.
If you’re elected to public office, all interaction with economic agents and instruments must be conducted through an embarrassingly transparent firewall with real-time disclosure.
@waderoberts @angusm @rbreich @pluralistic I was about to frame a question in a similar way. How could you ensure these politicians are not "secretly" buying stock or profiting through the use of shell companies or relatives or even through a dividend from their donors?
Alternately, could we introduce a mechanism that gives the public live updates and insights on all trade activity including success rates, etc?
Alternately, could we introduce a mechanism that gives the public live updates and insights on all trade activity including success rates, etc?
JWM@angusm @rbreich @pluralistic I’m similarly constrained, only because my spouse works at an investment bank…as an EA, with no access to material non-public info. I can’t buy individual stocks, and all of my trades are monitored. We can damn well expect that of Pelosi, Schumer, and their ilk.
Gurre Vildskägg@rbreich
Same effing corruption going on here in Sweden. 4 ministers have been revealed to have done very timely stock purchases right before big government contracts signed or decided things directly affecting companies they hold stock in.
Surprise! It's a right wing government.
Ji Fu
punIssuer@rbreich #altText4you
Random reminder that banning members of Congress from trading stock is a total no brainer. They can use priviledged information to make money on the stock market, while they're supposed to be working for you. Make no mistake – it's legalized corruption
Random reminder that banning members of Congress from trading stock is a total no brainer. They can use priviledged information to make money on the stock market, while they're supposed to be working for you. Make no mistake – it's legalized corruption
JamesTDG
Fr. Marty@rbreich Can we not legislate that assets except perhaps a personal residence must be put in a common blind trust, to be managed by an independent individual or group (government employee, evaluated by independent board) that was tied to a broad investment index? Meaning, they would be pooled, and the return would be equal to the broader markets (particularly retirement funds)? I'd even be OK with forgiving taxes realized gains put into the trust and any gains of the trust.
Carl (He/Him)@rbreich It is entirely unsurprising that 24 of 535 people in Congress would have portfolios that outperform the markets. Indeed, that's suspiciously low. Can I have your source? I'm suspecting that 24 is some sort of lower limit, not the actual number.
Geoff Coffey@rbreich Hey man like graft is a skill.
Sterling@rbreich
@briankrebs
There are even funds that advertise to follow them:
e.g. https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/NANC/
This is not a partisan thing
Mouse
OCTADE
Jaime Robertson@rbreich Imsider trading by Congress members has been banned since 2012 by the STOCK Act signed by Obama.
Seems we need to add to it, to ban all trading by them and prevent them from using surrogates to get around it, and actually enforce it.
Glenn@rbreich True, but why not also ban
* All Federally elected officials.
* Put restrictions on all federal employees (and officials) that are equivalent to corporate employees. This provides penalties for employees and their relatives who take advantage of insider information.
* Prosecute people who take advantage of insider information - give the proceeds from the fines to charities that feed people.
* All Federally elected officials.
* Put restrictions on all federal employees (and officials) that are equivalent to corporate employees. This provides penalties for employees and their relatives who take advantage of insider information.
* Prosecute people who take advantage of insider information - give the proceeds from the fines to charities that feed people.
@rbreich I wasn't expecting the number to be that high, but it's not really a surprise. Thank you, Robert. Keep up the fantastic work 👏.
Fat_Farang@rbreich And fools think the US can vote their way out of their current mess. Feets in the streets for the class war.