Posted on 01/06/2012 2:23:13 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
Earlier this week, the Chicago Tribune ran a little noted editorial on the insider trading scandal plaguing Congress, calling out phony efforts to reform the rules and demanding that we finally put a stop to this outrageous and unethical behavior.
If you haven’t read the editorial yet, I recommend you do because while the professional political punditry class is more interested in superfluous items like the political horse race and candidate attire, the reality is that members of both parties in Washington, D.C., are abusing their positions and ordinary Americans have had enough.
As the editorial notes, “’60 Minutes’ reported that Pelosi and her husband participated in an initial public offering from Visa in 2008, just as credit card legislation started moving through the House. The Pelosis bought 5,000 shares at the IPO price of $44 a share. Two days later, the shares traded at $64. The legislation, which was likely to cut credit card company profits, went nowhere that year. It passed two years later.”
It’s not enough members of Congress make $174,000 a year, some are trading on inside information to use their public service to enrich themselves.
The Tribune is right, the Securities and Exchange Commission and Justice Department should be using every available tool to put a stop to this. But they are not. So, Congress needs to pass the STOCK Act as a matter of urgency, to do even more to ensure that this kind of thing is stopped dead in its tracks.
In addition to calling for tough measures to outlaw insider trading by Members of Congress, I’ve called for making Congress part-time, like the Texas legislature, cutting congressional pay in half, and amending FOIA to apply to Congress and the White House.
We have a $15 trillion national debt that is growing by the day, a direct result of establishment, insider politicians who are more interested in constantly increasing their personal power and profit than in reforming the system, bringing spending under control, and doing the work they were elected to do. It’s time to uproot and overhaul Washington. We can start with ensuring insider trading by members of Congress results in prison time, and not unseemly profits.
******************
Nov. 13, 2011: “Pelosi fires back at ‘60 Minutes’ report on ‘soft corruption’”
“Pelosi and her husband participated in an initial public offering of Visa in 2008, according to CBS. They bought 5,000 shares at the initial price of $44; two days later, shares were trading at $64, CBS said.”.......... Source
Members of congress should be severely limited by law when it comes to gifts, market trading and reporting of all income and full financial details.
174,000 is not a large salary considering the importance of the work. But since this is a capitalist society I think congressmen should receive no salary, no benefits and no retirement. If you haven’t made enough of a success of yourself to handle that just what business do you have being a lawmaker in a capitalist society??
November 16, 2011
Dear Leader Pelosi,
After reading about House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer’s outburst over my “Overhauling Washington” plan, I wonder if his obstructionism reflects your own opposition and that of the Democratic Caucus to urgent reforms the American people so vehemently demand.
After increasing the debt by $4 trillion in less than three years, no one can believe that Americans are satisfied with business as usual, and that a permanent political class in Washington can get us out of the mess you and your colleagues have created.
A part-time Congress with half the pay would still make $38,000 a year more than the average American family. Do you truly oppose lawmakers spending more time in their districts? Is it so important for the Washington power brokers to build their fiefdoms of influence, including providing bailouts to Wall Street while businesses on Main Street are being boarded up every day?
Here is the fundamental question: do you believe Washington is broken? Before answering that question, consider these facts:
1) the Washington Metro area is now the most affluent metropolitan area in the country because lobbyists, contractors, elected officials and bureaucrats have been insulated from the economic ruin prevalent in the private sector;
2) Congressional office budgets have doubled since 2000 while employers all across America are laying off workers;
3) Our nation’s total debt is nearing the size of our nation’s economy, increasing our dependence on competitors like China;
4) The number of Americans out of work has increased by more than two million since January 2009, despite the massive stimulus package Democratic leaders promised would revive the economy, and;
5) on top of the job-killing spending policies of the previous Congress, employers are faced with a staggering $1.1 trillion in costs related to federal regulatory compliance.
Do you truly believe the answer to massive debt, over-regulation and bloated big-government policies is to continue to protect the status quo, which enriches and empowers Washington insiders at the expense of the American People?
My plan would overhaul Washington, eliminating certain agencies and reducing the size and scope of others. It will force Congress to make the tough decisions to balance the budget or require a further reduction in their pay. It would end lifetime appointments to future appointees to the federal bench. I don’t want to tinker around the edges when the American People demand a complete overhaul of Washington.
Let me conclude with an invitation: I am in Washington Monday and would love to engage you in a public debate about my Overhaul Washington plan versus the congressional status quo. I think it would be a tremendous service to the American public to see a public airing of these differences. Let the people decide. If Monday doesn’t work, perhaps we could find a time in Iowa over the course of the next month to discuss these issues in front of the people of America’s heartland.
Should you choose not to respond or engage in such a healthy discussion, I will take it to mean you will continue your obstructionist ways in the face of much needed Washington reform.
Sincerely,
Rick Perry
Governor of Texas
The simple fix here is to have a open book on stock ownership by every congressman and senator...even if they have blind trusts. Within forty-eight hours after you make a transaction....you have to report it, period. They can whip up a small office of four folks in DC...give them their own secured web site where the political figure would report the action, and the team would post the action on their page. If the public wants to watch the actions and deem them to be insider actions....then all they have to do is report it to the SEC. By law, any insider trading....has to be investigated.
They’ve turned from being representatives of the people to being builders of a business — BIG government — they legislate more and more rules and regulations to secure and grow their careers.
They need to do less, have smaller staffs and return part of the year to their districts and states and live under what they have wrought.
And no gold plated health insurance exempted from ObamaCare — as one example of their elite status — their rank as “superior, protected citizens.”
There is no simple fix because the legislature votes on changes. However, Perry has promised to do it “ugly” and campaign with those in their states who agree that these changes must be made and who will vote for them. He says the voters will get behind those candidate who want to do the right thing. No wonder Gov. Rick Perry is not the RINO choice and the perfect anti-Romney choice.
ALL laws. Congress has exempted themselves from substantialy all of the laws they pass.
This has to stop.
There are more crimnals on Capitol Hill than in Leavenworth . We put them there.
No more insider trading, and Term limits.
Of course both are dreams, the criminals are not going to end their crime spree.
If we stop this, the self centered little brats won’t run for office.
And we'll send them back in overwhelming numbers. Remember, it's always the other guy's congresscritter who is the problem.
Yes there is.
It should be illegal for any congressperson to buy/sell/trade/own stock that is not in a third-party-controlled retirement fund.
Once elected, the person has 60 days to divest all stocks/options/bonds/etc before taking office.
Once retired from Congress, cannot own stock for 5 years.
“I’ve called for making Congress part-time, like the Texas legislature, cutting congressional pay in half, and amending FOIA to apply to Congress and the White House.”
HOORAY Rick! These scumbags and their minions are laughing all the way to their next insider trade.
Another reason why...
Legislatures (state and federal) could be part-time jobs with 1/10th pay, NO retirement, NO insurance, NO benefits and NO perks. These POS politicians can get a full time job doing something productive not progressive. Their part-time job could be spent DEFUNDING/DISMANTLING socialist collectives, foreign and domestic (our government in particular).
—That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Alter it.
IF you'd rather NOT be pinged FReepmail me.
IF you'd like to be added FReepmail me. Thanks.
*****************************************************************************************************************************************************
That is an excellent plan!
Time to bust up their little party. It is obvious these so called public servants are nothing but slick sales people obsessed with their own enrichment at our expense.
What is worse CW is the class of people that see them as "Clients", and they become the toadies the fill the coffers for re-election for the Statist!
I have a Liberal distant relative who loved trying to get Federal Contracts. Especially if someone going for the contract with him was a "Three-fer" and almost guaranteed a victory.
This is where you and I are different.
We do not want Fedzilla as a client, and we don't want to see it as a growth area.
We have a class of Liberal Business People who do not see that as we do, i.e. a bad thing.
Worse, Obama has put it on steriods with even a worse form of crony capitalism or nuevo facism or what ever label you want to give it.
Remember, it’s always the other guy’s congresscritter who is the problem.
.........................................................
Not in my case. My Congresscritter is Steny Hoyer, and he IS the problem.
I have done everything in my power to get rid of the SOB, but he keeps going back. Never held a real job in his life , has sucked on the Government teat all his life.
Just as there are those who have come to the reality that members of Congress are their masters, who they must go to hat-in-hand to "buy" their favor in order to keep them (legislation) off their backs (companies do this too to keep "green terrorists" off their backs -- they buy them off with donations or ads touting green).
I do not want to see this as a growth area. I want to see this dragon slayed.
Are congressmen allowed to rob banks too?
A link you might find interesting - don’t believe it was posted...
http://frontpagemag.com/2011/12/23/iran-venezuela-cuba-and-the-cyber-threat/
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.