Let's Thwart America's Criminal Class
"There is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress."
-- Mark Twain
I don't often find myself in agreement with Sarah Palin, but I was thoroughly convinced by her arguments in a recent piece titled "How Congress Occupied Wall Street."
After beginning with the same hilarious quote from Mark Twain, she demanded that "laws that apply to the private sector must apply to Congress" and insisted, "Trading on non-public government information should be illegal both for those who pass on the information and those who trade on it." Ultimately, she concluded by declaring that "real reform must transcend political parties."
We couldn't agree more at The Motley Fool, and that's why we've been fighting for years on behalf of the STOCK Act, a proposed law that is designed to prohibit Senators and Representatives from trading securities based on nonpublic information. The legislation would also require additional reporting of financial information by members of Congress. Ultimately, we feel strongly that investors deserve a level playing field. Congress shouldn't enjoy an unfair advantage over the rest of us.
In the coming weeks, we intend to harness the power of our community on behalf of this legislation. Below, we've compiled some of the best information on the Web about this issue.
If you'd like to join this movement, you can do so quickly and easily.
First, send a blank email to imoscovitz@fool.com letting us know that having Congressional members trading on privileged information is not OK with you. We'll keep you up to date on the progress of the STOCK Act and let you know how you can help get it passed.
Next, add your signature to the petition urging Congress to stop the dilly-dallying and get the STOCK Act passed now!
Coverage of the STOCK Act from The Motley Fool
The Stock Market Is Fixed, Matt Koppenheffer
Take Action: Let's Hold House Majority Leader Eric Cantor Accountable (Updated-2), Motley Fool Staff
Highway Robbery on Capitol Hill, Rich Smith
Highway Robbery on Capitol Hill, Part Deux, Rich Smith
Dear Congress: Please Stop Robbing Us, Rich Smith
The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act: a Tutorial, Rich Smith
Why Congress Can't Stop Stealing, Rich Smith
Senators, Act Senatorially -- and Pass the STOCK Act, Rich Smith
Support Your Local "Sheriff" ... in Supporting the STOCK Act, Rich Smith
An Open Letter to the Next Speaker of the House, Rich Smith
Coverage from The Wall Street Journal
How Congress Occupied Wall Street, Sarah Palin
A Perk of Power: Trading in Companies You Oversee, Jason Zweig
Congress Members Bet on Fall in Stocks, Jason Zweig, Tom McGinty, and Brody Williams
The Ron Paul Portfolio, Jason Zweig
Lawmaker Vows to Outlaw Insider Trading on the Hill, Tom McGinty and Brody Williams
Congressional Staffers Gain From Trading in Stocks, Brody Mullins, Tom McGinty, and Jason Zweig
Insider-Trading Bill Backed, Brody Mullins
Inside Capitol, Investor Access Yields Rich Tips, Brody Mullins and Susan Pulliam
Lawmakers Lose in Markets, Brody Mullins, Jason Zweig, and Tom McGinty
Hedge Funds Pay Top Dollar for Washington Intelligence, Brody Mullins and Susan Pulliam
Congress's Phony Insider-Trading Reform, Jonathan Macey
Additional coverage
Congress: Trading Stock on Inside Information?, 60 Minutes report.
Insider Trading Laws Do Not Apply to Members of Congress. No, Seriously., Justin Rohrlich, Minyanville.
What's Eric Cantor Up To Re STOCK Act? Stephen Bainbridge, ProfessorBainbridge.com
Apply Same "Insider Trading" Restrictions on Members and Staff of Congress, Craig Holman, The Hill's Congress Blog
Capitol Gains, Megan McArdle, The Atlantic
The Underwhelming STOCK Act, Megan McArdle, The Atlantic
Do Members of Congress Use Insider Information? Andrew Eggers and Jens Hainmueller, The Boston Globe
Members of Congress Must Not Be Allowed to Gain an Edge on the Market, Scott Brown, The Boston Globe
Senators Introduce "Stock Act" to Stop "Insider Trading" in Congress, Stephanie Condon, CBS News
Lawmakers' Inside Advantage to Trading, Steve Henn, Marketplace
Has Congress Been Scared Straight on Insider Trading? John Carney, CNBC
Senate Panel on Stock for Appointees but Not Itself Seen As Double Standard, Scott Higham, Kimberly Kindy, and Dan Keating, The Washington Post
Let Members of Congress Trade! M. Todd Henderson and Larry Ribstein, Politico.
Move to Ban Alleged Insider Trading Faces Pitfalls, Tom Curry, MSNBC
Bill to Ban Insider Trading in Congress Is Suddenly Popular, Kimberly Kindy, The Washington Post
Murky Signals for Congress on Insider Trading, Peter Henning, The New York Times
Did Nancy Pelosi Profit From Visa Stock Purchases? David Grant, The Christian Science Monitor
Versions of the Stock Act:
Current House version in committee is H.R. 1148.
Publicly available Senate versions are, respectively, S. 1871 and S. 1903
Academic studies:
Abnormal Returns From the Common Stock Investments of Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Alan Ziobrowski et al., Business and Politics.
Abnormal Returns from the Common Stock Investments of the U.S. Senate, Alan Ziobrowski et al., Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis.
Capitol Losses: The Mediocre Performance of Congressional Stock Portfolios, 2004-2008, Andrew Eggers and Jens Hainmueller.
Insider Trading, Congressional Officials, and Duties of Entrustment, Donna Nagy.
Books:
Throw Them All Out, Peter Schweizer.
Insider Trading and the Stock Market, Henry Manne.
Public-interest websites:
Legistorm: http://www.legistorm.com/
OpenSecrets.org: http://www.opensecrets.org/
ProCon.org. See the materials on "Insider Trading by Congress": http://insidertrading.procon.org/
At the time thisarticle was published You can follow John Reeves on Twitter, where he goes by@TMFBane.Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
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