And it's all legal.....(unbelievable perks available to members of Congress!)

JEWISH WORLD REVIEW.COM ^ | DECEMBER 30, 2004 | JONATHAN TURLEY

[CHARLITE]

You can make more in a single stock trade than in a lifetime of public service. Congress has excluded investment income, such as stocks, from ethics limitations on income. The result is that members routinely make killings in the market in areas where they legislate. One study by the University of Memphis found that 75% of randomly selected members had "stock transactions that directly coincided with (their) legislative activity."

Members have the unique ability to predict or even manipulate stock prices. Another recent study by Alan J. Ziobrowski of Georgia State University and three colleagues showed that U.S. senators beat the market handily by 12 percentage points in their investments ‹ outperforming "corporate insiders" by eight points from 1993 to1998. This may have less to do with their market skills than their knowledge of upcoming bills or regulations benefiting certain companies.

[George from New England]

Corruption ... at its best.

[oldbrowser]

Corruption ... at its best.

Somebody call elliot spitzer.

[GSlob]

Well... one more reason to introduce high property qualifications for legislators (what was it in Rome? Minimum 400000 sesterces for a senator? But they were prohibited from engaging in trade). Someone with net worth in billions would have hard time for market- outperforming activities on his [gigantic] scale, also such activities would be much easier to detect, and bribing such a legislator would not be easy either.

[TheBattman]

Martha Steward gets jail time for selling stocks on "inside info", yet congressional thugs can buy and sell with direct knowledge (and possible control) of legislation and regulation that will influence said stocks - in DIRECT conflict of interests - and it's legal?

Something stinks - must be DC.

[AM2000]

Somebody call elliot spitzer.

I would actually love to see Elliott kick Congressional butt - even that of Republicans. Even if Elliott only does it for his own political career. At least asses will be kicked and that's more than what's happening now.

[July 4th]

This article cites Republicans for questionable ethics, leaving out several notorious Democrats like Sen. and Mrs. Daschle.

[KoRn]

This is unreal. What's doubly bad about this is how could it be changed? What are we gonna do, call our Congressman and demand them to do something? lol.

I wonder if the SEC can do anything about this.

[webstersII]

"This may have less to do with their market skills than their knowledge of upcoming bills or regulations benefiting certain companies."

Can someone explain why this is not considered insider trading? It looks like insider trading to me.

[Blood of Tyrants]

They make Kofi look like a smash and grab punk.

[mlc9852]

But how will we ever get it changed? The laws are made by those who benefit from the laws. I don't see much hope that things will ever improve. What do we do, write our senators and members of congress? Do you believe there are any in office who are honest enough and care enough about America that they would put their own interests behind those of the American people? It's kind of like how cheating in school is now - if everyone else is doing it, I might as well, too. And it's ashame that a person has to be rich to be able to run for public office, even on the local level. We lose out on a lot of qualified people because it costs so much to run for public office. Wish I had an answer.

[MKM1960]

This gets handled simply the minute they step into the job their business and investment interests are put into at blind trust like the President's. The only communications between the legislators and the trust is a quarterly statement that's one problem solved. All travel and hotels are paid for by the the legislator, if they are related to Congress they are reimbursed otherwise they pay their own way. Keep the rules simple and straightforward. That way if anyone claims ignorance their opponent has a clear case for stupidity in the next race.

[ol' hoghead]

"For the love of money is the root of all evil : which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."

1 Timothy 6:10.;

There is nothing new under the sun.

[mlc9852]

Do you think it would help to write the SEC? They may be able to do something. We can't just sit back and hope things will get better. Isn't it our responsibility to try to change things?

[Whitehawk]

Very simply: when buying and selling are controlled by legislation, rather than by free markets. the first things bought and sold are legislators. For personal gain they have ignored the Austrian school of economics and sold us all down the river as well and our children shall inherit their debts. To protect their own interests and their asses they have no shame. Therefore, nothing will be done about it. What has happened to the Sandy Burger burglary? What about the Rathergate investigation that was to release informative findings in "three weeks"? Could it be to protect the real criminals in the Kerry campaign. What about the many criminal tresspasses of Hillary?It goes on and on. There are the laws for us-then there are the lawless in the capitol the laws don't appy to. So much corruption exists in D.C., and so few of the sheeple even care, that I see no solution before the Republic implodes.Sad.

[Grut]

Can someone explain why this is not considered insider trading? It looks like insider trading to me.

Can't be. Insider trading is illegal and since Congress is above the law, what they're doing isn't illegal and therefore isn't insider trading. ;^)

[Centurion2000]

BUMP