The New York Times recently disclosed that from 2019 to 2021, nearly 100 U.S. congressmen were suspected of taking advantage of their positions to trade financial assets such as stocks and bonds by obtaining inside information to make profits in the financial market.
The New York Times said that of the 535 members of Congress, 183 current members of Congress reported investment transactions of themselves or their families between 2019 and 2021. Of these, 97 members of Congress reported more than 3,700 transactions that intersected with their committee work and had conflicts of interest. There are 49 Republicans and 48 Democrats, almost evenly split between the two parties.
The New York Times pointed out that while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is not included in the list of 97 members, her husband, Paul Pelosi, is an investor in real estate and technology companies. Between 2019 and 2021, Paul Pelosi bought and sold stocks, options and other financial assets worth about $25 million to $81 million. And many of the tech companies he trades in stocks belong to industries that have been affected by legislation that has been investigated or pushed by the U.S. Congress in recent years.
MPs use their power for personal gain
U.S. legal regulation is useless
In fact, the United States passed the “Stop Using Congressional Information Trading Act” in 2012, referred to as the “Stock Law”, which prohibits lawmakers from conducting insider trading. However, for these “legislators”, the so-called legal supervision is useless and has no binding force. .
In 2012, the “Stop Using Congressional Information to Trade Act”, referred to as the “Stocks Act”, stipulates that U.S. congressmen and staff are not allowed to use non-public information to trade stocks. The above-mentioned individuals are required to disclose transactions valued at more than $1,000 within 45 days of the stock transaction.
However, the law does not prohibit members of Congress and their relatives from owning or trading stocks, and even if members of Congress violate the relevant provisions of the act, the penalties are very small. Under the Act, late filing of such reports is usually only subject to a small fine of $200, and sometimes exemptions.
The bill has almost no effect. Nearly 50 members of Congress (in 2021 alone), including Republicans and Democrats, and nearly 200 congressional staff members have repeatedly violated the Stock Act with little or no punishment. They can make tens of millions of dollars using inside information. What’s the penalty for not reporting these transactions as required, it’s a joke, just pay a $200 fine.
A poll by the American private organization “Morning Consultation” earlier this year showed that 63% of respondents wanted to ban lawmakers from stock trading.
U.S. Politicians “Steal Yourself”
The two parties are highly consistent
Although the American public generally supports banning lawmakers from stock trading and calls on Congress to legislate to stop this phenomenon, most lawmakers in the United States and both parties have come out against it. Experts believe that this reflects the high degree of consistency between US politicians of the two parties in “secrecy and self-stealing” and using power for personal gain.
Recently, the US media and public opinion have been paying close attention to the abuse of power and corruption by members of both parties in the US Congress who are involved in insider trading and use the US financial market as their own cash machines. To a large extent, this reflects the dissatisfaction, disgust and anger of American public opinion and public opinion that, under the pressure of this kind of economic inflation, the politicians of the two parties in the United States continue to do nothing but harm the public and private.
In recent years, with the worsening situation of the U.S. economy, public opinion once again hopes that the U.S. Congress will further advance relevant legislation. However, people like the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Pelosi and others have firmly opposed it on the grounds of so-called “market freedom”. Later, it became clear to the outside world that the reason for the opposition of Pelosi and others was that their families were making huge profits from it. At a deeper level, this fully shows that the politicians of the two parties in the United States obviously represent their own self-interest and some special interests, and their behavior is not aimed at responding to the interests and demands of ordinary American people, but is deceiving public opinion. On the basis of the goal of maximizing self-interest. It is completely impossible for the American people to count on these politicians to make responsive reforms and adjustments.
International / International / Sharp / Commentary
American politics is full of “stock gods”
In the United States, if people talk about “Capitol Hill stock gods”, people will first think of the Pelosi family, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. But in fact, Washington “stock gods” are far more than her family, and they are not only on Capitol Hill.
Many times, the “crisis” of the American country and the people has turned into an “opportunity” for some people to make money. In early 2020, before the American public was aware of the seriousness of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, Auchen Krauss, chief deputy director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, sold a large number of stocks and funds. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that its employees traded 60% more in stocks and funds in January 2020 than the prior 12-month average. This is not uncommon in the US Congress.
Why do American politicians use public office for personal gain so recklessly? The direct reason is that the current laws are not binding enough, which allows American politicians to rely on insider information to make a turbulent situation in the stock market. At the same time, the U.S. government is also trying to cover up such behavior. The irony is that these U.S. officials who exploit the loopholes in the rules for personal gain are in control of the legislative power, which means that talking to them about improving the legislation is tantamount to plotting against a tiger.
First-hand money and first-hand power – these Washington “stock gods” are like greedy rats, constantly eroding the interests of the American public and the American national system. Some analysts believe that the use of insider trading by American politicians to speculate in stocks may become an incurable disease in American society, just like gun violence and political donations. According to the latest Gallup poll results, the American public’s trust in the US Congress fell to the lowest, only 7%.
American political scientist Francis Fukuyama once wrote in the magazine Foreign Affairs that the United States has experienced a deep-rooted political decline, and its national governance institutions have become increasingly ineffective. In essence, insider trading in American politicians’ stocks is a form of “systemic corruption.” When they are openly corrupt and go unpunished, it reflects the failure of American institutions and political decay.All articles in this group are based on CCTV newsReturn to Sohu, see more
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