60 Minutes broke this story a decade ago.<p><a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/congress-trading-stock-on-inside-information/" rel="nofollow">https://www.cbsnews.com/news/congress-trading-stock-on-insid...</a><p>Due to the traction the story got, it led to the Stock Act.<p>But once the news cycle was over it was quietly, rapidly, and largely repealed:<p><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2013/04/16/177496734/how-congress-quietly-overhauled-its-insider-trading-law" rel="nofollow">https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2013/04/16/17749...</a><p>And here we are a decade later “shocked” <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjbPi00k_ME" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjbPi00k_ME</a>
This is a common tactic in the Senate to subvert legislative direction. Ossoff's bill is superior in that it prevents children from also trading (see Sen. Manchin's shady dealings).
It's hard to think about anything but this:<p><a href="https://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2013/09/how_does_the_shutdown_relate_t.html" rel="nofollow">https://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2013/09/how_does_the_shutdow...</a><p>>If Senator X "makes a concession" the relevant media will proclaim him a loser and a coward, they don't want representatives, they want cage fighters. There's no reward for compromise and there's no safe place to attempt it, either.<p>>[...]<p>>Or, said differently, if there was a government shut down at a time when the news came out only weekly, it would mean we were getting a new flag.
Hot take but I'd much rather politicians make their money via open, fully-disclosed investments in public companies vs shady backroom deals where their kids or shell companies get untracked kickbacks.<p>Pelosi represents SF. It's her congressional district. Her investing in the top SF companies (many of which include tech companies which have performed really well) is a rare case of supporting her constituent businesses. Sure it's horrible optics and politics and yada yada but people should consider that the alternative (banning all trading as a member of congress) is potentially worse for open democracy.