Finally, an issue both Republicans and Democrats can agree upon, halting the
practice of exempting Congress from ethical laws that apply to the rest of us. But
instead, our elected members of Congress are ignoring their partisan differences
and uniting together against the wishes of constituents of both parties. Why
don’t insider trading laws apply to members of Congress? How can members
of Congress vote objectively on issues affecting companies that they are heavily
invested in? A new Rasmussen poll found that 48% of Americans believe most members of Congress are corrupt. Congress's approval rating has slipped to a shocking new low of just 5%.
The third most popular stock owned by members of Congress is bank stock
– which no doubt influenced the financial bailouts. 57 members have stock in
Bank of America. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) owns between half a million
and one million dollars in Bank of America stock. The eighth most popular stock
owned by Congress is Wells Fargo, another recipient of government bailouts.
John Kerry (D-MA) owns the most stock in Wells Fargo, somewhere between
$350,000 and $765,000 in shares.
Corporate insiders are banned from insider trading because it gives them an
advantage everyone else does not have. Congressional investors have a better trading record than average investors, so how are they any different? Members of Congress and their staff outperform other investors by 6% to 25%. Democrats’
stock portfolios do the best, outperforming the market by 9%. Senators
outperform the market by 12%. They know in advance through nonpublic
information what kinds of regulations are going to affect various industries, so
they know when to buy and sell stock accordingly.