Quantum Windbag
Gold Member
- May 9, 2010
- 58,308
- 5,101
- 245
Being the cynic I am I always think that anything that has broad bipartisan support because I know that it means they are out to screw people over. Turns out the new law against insider trading is no exception, it will let Congress get away with more by making it more difficult to organize opposition to last minute additions to laws by making disclosure of those laws potentially illegal.
The STOCK Act’s Muzzle — How “Insider Trading” Bill Could Shut Down Grassroots Communication
Never trust a politician who wants to help you.
Its April 2012. You are a conscientious congressional staffer who still takes seriously the need to be a steward of taxpayers money. (Yes, I know for a fact, there are more than a few of these folks around on Capitol Hill.) You are watching closely events surrounding an omnibus or minibus spending bill deemed even by conservative Republican members as must-pass because it funds the military as well as other parts of government.
Suddenly, you hear about an outrageous earmark about to be slipped into the bill that would enrich a Fortune 500 company. You know how these things work; once the bill hits the floor, its very hard to excise one provision. So you decide to alert a network of fiscal watchdogs youve met with over the years to wage an instant campaign against this piece of corporate welfare.
You have all the information in the e-mail and are about to hit send. But then you remember something from a briefing you attended a couple days ago. The subject was the STOCK (Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge) Act aimed at stopping insider trading by members and employees of Congress that your boss and nearly every other member of Congress voted into law in February.
At the time, you didnt think the law would affect you since the only trading you do is indirect, through your mutual funds and pension. You were surprised to learn, however, that you now have a broad duty of confidentiality that encompasses not just trading on material, nonpublic information, but disclosing information to those who might.
The STOCK Act’s Muzzle — How “Insider Trading” Bill Could Shut Down Grassroots Communication
Never trust a politician who wants to help you.