Posted on 12/11/2011 5:30:08 PM PST by khnyny
“They are only blind is so far as .. they are not blind what you put into them initially, they are only blind if you put in cash, or after a period of time the assets are sold down to a particular level, then you are notified that you do not have those any more.”
The way to catch congressional insiders is to have real time electronic disclosures of securities trades. Congress constituents can send them back, or throw them out.
The loophole in which members of congress and legislative staffers are immune from enforcement of insider-trading laws, is because the delayed reporting of securities transactions by congress, defeats, obstructs, and impairs its use as timely evidence. Insider-trading cases are hard to prove, because the trades must be tightly linked to the events or information on which they are allegedly based.
Trades need to be disclosed in “real time or near real time,” so that the memories of potential witnesses are fresh and suspects do not have time to cover up their actions. The SEC, which conducts most insider-trading investigations, urged faster disclosure of stock trades by members of Congress on electronic, searchable forms. This is why no Congress people were investigated under the current laws.
How is that going to keep anyone from trading?
But it will be to late to do anything about it. That is why they delay disclosure. Witnesses get prompted and don’t recollect anything.
And the SEC relies on reports that congress does not file in any meaningful time.
A blind trust is a trust in which the fiduciaries, namely the trustees or those who have been given power of attorney, have full discretion over the assets, and the beneficiaries have no knowledge of the holdings of the trust and no right to intervene in they’re handling. Blind trusts are generally used when a settlor (sometimes called a trustor or donor) wishes to keep the beneficiary unaware of the specific assets in the trust, such as to avoid conflict of interest between the beneficiary and the investments. Politicians or others in sensitive positions often place their personal assets (including investment income) into blind trusts, to avoid public scrutiny and accusations of conflicts of interest when they direct government funds to the private sector.
About one hour and eight minutes into the Senate hearing on insider trading http://www.c-span.org/Events/Congressional-Inside... I think it might have been Robert Walker who told congress why blind trusts are not a workable solution to insider trading. These kinds of trusts cost a lot of money. “They are only blind is so far as .. they are not blind what you put into them initially, they are only blind if you put in cash, or after a period of time the assets are sold down to a particular level, then you are notified that you do not have those any more.”
So a congressperson can know what is in the trust and legislate to that end. Who exactly is monitoring the communications between the trust owner, and the trust management, who me having thanksgiving dinner together?
Anyone with half a brain can get around a blind trust. One side of the party is a public figure that can communicate on TV to the trustee with words or gestures, when changes are likely to occur. Who are you going to get to manage the trust?
The whole concept of a blind trust with a public figure must be some kind of a joke.
What at that point must kick in are men and women of good will that will do the right thing regardless of what they hold. The will act with a Fiduciary Mindset even though they are not one and navigate themselves away from Moral Hazard.
That is missing for sure....
Not sure what the GOP is up to. Unfortunately, “Skilled Communications” is not in the GOP House tool box.
I like Cantor, but he’s got no communications or marketing abilities. At all. He manages to make smart things sound stupid.
Good points. Thanks for the info.
Yes, thanks for the info...
1. Term limits
2. An annual audit of their personal accounts and those of their family, staff, etc.
3. Signing an oath that they will not engage in insider trading and if caught - real consequences - jail time, etc.
4. Do what the security agencies do - polygraph them.
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