• BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    I get it but beating the market by whatever percentage is not the deciding factor in whether or not you’re making an insider trade. I expect lawmakers to follow the same laws as the rest of us.

    • NaibofTabr
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      5 months ago

      Statistically, as a group, congress members are doing no better in the market than any average trader, and many of them are in fact doing worse. If you have some evidence that actually shows there is some broad corruption involved (not with one or two, but like with a statistically significant number of them, say >10%) I would be very interested to see it.

      Otherwise, you’re just making vague implications based on assumptions.

      • BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        The number of people trading with insider information also isn’t a deciding factor in whether it’s illegal.

        Here’s at least one case that’s pretty clear cut I feel, so it does happen - https://www.politico.com/news/2024/07/10/democrats-mike-garcia-boeing-stock-00167225

        If they’re going to say this is a tough rule to follow they’re already too far gone and as you said most would do better just buying SPY anyway.

      • SoylentBlake@lemm.ee
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        5 months ago

        With Pelosi specifically, this doesn’t include her husbands trading.

        Which is absolutely still relevant in the insider trading allegations. Not just immediate family, but extended family and close business associates are included in that round up.

        This chart means nothing. Look at the last two Georgian Republican senators of late. Some of the most egregious blatant insider trading and corruption the world has ever seen. So the rest of Congress just makes a phone call or sends a text message to get their cousin to buy whatever company the military is about to invest in. That’s still insider trading.

        Shit before Covid lockdowns, the hill convened, said things are fine, then went and invested millions into PPE providers.

        Those motherfuckers should be in jail and their shit repo’d with treble damages.

        • NaibofTabr
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          5 months ago

          With Pelosi specifically, this doesn’t include her husbands trading.

          Which is absolutely still relevant in the insider trading allegations. Not just immediate family, but extended family and close business associates are included in that round up.

          This is a fair point, and definitely a family involved in politics could take advantage of the system this way.

          I’m not sure how we resolve this. I can certianly see a justification for elected officials having essentially open books, their investments submitted to public record. But does the public have a right to an official’s spouse’s account information? Their children? Their parents? Their siblings? There has to be a privacy line somewhere, but of course a bad actor could just run their accounts through a family member on the other side of that line (as you said, through cousins).

          I can’t think of an enforceable rule that could prevent this, that isn’t also an egregious violation of personal privacy.