"As Congress moves on insider trading bill, lawmakers remain exempt from several federal laws
While Congress is moving to explicitly apply insider trading laws to its members, lawmakers are exempt from provisions of other federal laws.
"In 1995, the House and Senate passed the Congressional Accountability Act, which did apply many civil rights, labor and workplace safety statutes to the legislative branch.
Congress is still exempt from:
—The Freedom of Information Act.
—Investigatory subpoenas to obtain information for safety and health probes.
—Protections against retaliation for whistleblowers.
—Having to post notices of worker rights in offices.
—Prosecution for retaliating against employees who report safety and health hazards.
—Having to train employees about workplace rights and legal remedies.
—Record-keeping requirements for workplace injuries and illnesses."
As Congress moves on insider trading bill, lawmakers remain exempt from several federal laws - The Washington Post
And, related to this story,
1. Schweizer points out that if you're an elected official and you sit on an important committee, you are allowed to trade on the information that comes to you or even results from your committee-related decisions. It stands to reason that if you're on the banking committee, you probably trade bank stocks, playing it both long and short. If you're a staffer, you may accumulate sensitive information and sell it to hedge funds. A lot of careerists trade on non-public information.
2. Nancy Pelosi, the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives with an estimated net worth of $58 million, bought 5,000 shares of V (Visa) at the privileged IPO price $44. This trade showed a profit immediately and the shares went up to about $88 in a matter of days. However, Pelosi worked on major legislation that if it had not been killed in the body she led, would have had a strong negative affect on the price right at that time. The rest of us can't do it because we're subject to strict conflict of interest rules, unlike lawmakers. Plus, we're not invited to participate in IPOs until after the price is run up.
3. "Many members of Congress seem guilty here, including John Kerry, Dick Durbin, and Jim Moran. But Spencer Bachus takes the cake.
According to a new book called Throw Them All Out by Peter Schweizer, as relayed by Dave Weigel at Slate, Rep. Bachus made more than 40 trades in his personal account in the summer and fall of 2008, in the early months of the financial crisis.
The fact that Bachus personally traded on private information he received as a result of his job is bad enough. The fact that he was the ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee at the time is simply outrageous."
Rep. Spencer Bachus Should Resign In Disgrace - Business Insider
And, this tale of hope and change:
1. “On March 3, 2007 USA Today ran a piece on then-Senator Obama regarding two stocks in his portfolio. Obama was running for President and his critics were stating that the Senator may have been involved in insider trading, cronyism, using his position for personal gain, etc. Basically the media ran this story for a day, and then kissed it goodbye. Could you imagine the outrage if these same set of circumstances involved a Republican running for President?” Obama the Investor
2. And, from the original AP story: WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Wednesday he was not aware he had invested in two companies backed by some of his top donors and said he had done nothing to aid their business with the government. The Illinois senator faced questions about more than $50,000 in investments he made right after taking office in 2005 in two speculative companies, AVI Biopharma and Skyterra Communications.
3. Obama said he didn’t invest in a qualified blind trust because it wouldn’t enable him to limit which companies he invested in, such as those in the tobacco industry and other areas that he did not want to support. USATODAY.com - Obama faces questions on his investments
Where are the cries for 'equality'???
Answer:
Too many folks have been bought off by the bribes of big government in return for giving up democracy.
" As FDR once described it, the new social contract calls for the people to consent to greater government power in exchange for the government providing them with rights: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Obamacare, etc. The more power the people give government, the more rights we receive. FDR's New Deal implied that there's nothing to fear from making government bigger and bigger, because political tyranny—at least among advanced nations—is a thing of the past."
https://www.hillsdale.edu/news/imprimis/archive/issue.asp?year=2010&month=05
You'll let 'em do whatever they want....there's your hope and change.
While Congress is moving to explicitly apply insider trading laws to its members, lawmakers are exempt from provisions of other federal laws.
"In 1995, the House and Senate passed the Congressional Accountability Act, which did apply many civil rights, labor and workplace safety statutes to the legislative branch.
Congress is still exempt from:
—The Freedom of Information Act.
—Investigatory subpoenas to obtain information for safety and health probes.
—Protections against retaliation for whistleblowers.
—Having to post notices of worker rights in offices.
—Prosecution for retaliating against employees who report safety and health hazards.
—Having to train employees about workplace rights and legal remedies.
—Record-keeping requirements for workplace injuries and illnesses."
As Congress moves on insider trading bill, lawmakers remain exempt from several federal laws - The Washington Post
And, related to this story,
1. Schweizer points out that if you're an elected official and you sit on an important committee, you are allowed to trade on the information that comes to you or even results from your committee-related decisions. It stands to reason that if you're on the banking committee, you probably trade bank stocks, playing it both long and short. If you're a staffer, you may accumulate sensitive information and sell it to hedge funds. A lot of careerists trade on non-public information.
2. Nancy Pelosi, the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives with an estimated net worth of $58 million, bought 5,000 shares of V (Visa) at the privileged IPO price $44. This trade showed a profit immediately and the shares went up to about $88 in a matter of days. However, Pelosi worked on major legislation that if it had not been killed in the body she led, would have had a strong negative affect on the price right at that time. The rest of us can't do it because we're subject to strict conflict of interest rules, unlike lawmakers. Plus, we're not invited to participate in IPOs until after the price is run up.
3. "Many members of Congress seem guilty here, including John Kerry, Dick Durbin, and Jim Moran. But Spencer Bachus takes the cake.
According to a new book called Throw Them All Out by Peter Schweizer, as relayed by Dave Weigel at Slate, Rep. Bachus made more than 40 trades in his personal account in the summer and fall of 2008, in the early months of the financial crisis.
The fact that Bachus personally traded on private information he received as a result of his job is bad enough. The fact that he was the ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee at the time is simply outrageous."
Rep. Spencer Bachus Should Resign In Disgrace - Business Insider
And, this tale of hope and change:
1. “On March 3, 2007 USA Today ran a piece on then-Senator Obama regarding two stocks in his portfolio. Obama was running for President and his critics were stating that the Senator may have been involved in insider trading, cronyism, using his position for personal gain, etc. Basically the media ran this story for a day, and then kissed it goodbye. Could you imagine the outrage if these same set of circumstances involved a Republican running for President?” Obama the Investor
2. And, from the original AP story: WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Wednesday he was not aware he had invested in two companies backed by some of his top donors and said he had done nothing to aid their business with the government. The Illinois senator faced questions about more than $50,000 in investments he made right after taking office in 2005 in two speculative companies, AVI Biopharma and Skyterra Communications.
3. Obama said he didn’t invest in a qualified blind trust because it wouldn’t enable him to limit which companies he invested in, such as those in the tobacco industry and other areas that he did not want to support. USATODAY.com - Obama faces questions on his investments
Where are the cries for 'equality'???
Answer:
Too many folks have been bought off by the bribes of big government in return for giving up democracy.
" As FDR once described it, the new social contract calls for the people to consent to greater government power in exchange for the government providing them with rights: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Obamacare, etc. The more power the people give government, the more rights we receive. FDR's New Deal implied that there's nothing to fear from making government bigger and bigger, because political tyranny—at least among advanced nations—is a thing of the past."
https://www.hillsdale.edu/news/imprimis/archive/issue.asp?year=2010&month=05
You'll let 'em do whatever they want....there's your hope and change.
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