XCSFDHG46767FHJHJF
tdp2664 InvestorPlace According to a recent Gallup poll, Americans’ approval rating for Congress is at a mere 13%. It's the lowest ever (George Washington must be rolling in his grave). Then again, citizens have plenty to be mad about. And now we have some more red meat: A recent episode of 60 Minutes makes Congress look like a shifty hedge fund, with its members trafficking in insider information. Needless to say, it has ignited a firestorm. For example, in September 2008, then-Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gave a horrific presentation to a variety of members of Congress. What happened next? They started to dump their investments. One such example is detailed in a new book that hit the stores today: Throw Them All Out by Peter Schweizer, a fellow at the conservative Hoover Institution. Schweizer says Representative Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) purchased options on the ProShares UltraShort S&P500 (NYSE: SDS ), in which he quickly doubled his money. He then went on to short GE (NYSE: GE ). How about that for his faith and patriotism for America? In light of these revelations, it should be no surprise that the reflex reaction many are calling for is to completely ban trading among members of Congress. Why give them any temptation? Don't they make enough money already? Well, trading by elected officials can certainly be problematic in many cases. But this doesn’t necessarily mean all of their trading should be banned. After all, the federal securities laws allow CEOs to trade in their own stocks –
No comments:
Post a Comment