Lawmakers Want to Ban Stock Trading, Except When It's Their Own
When Rep. Anna Luna (R-FL) files a discharge petition to force a vote on banning stock trading by lawmakers, The Hill reports it as a genuine push for transparency. What they won't dwell on? The fact that the push for a ban itself often gets traded like a hot stock, appearing when public outrage peaks, only to be conveniently tabled. While this particular move gestures towards good governance, the
real action is usually happening in the dark. How many times have we seen bills like this languish, while members of Congress, with their 'blind trusts' and 'perfectly coincidental' timing, profit handsomely from industries they regulate? One might wonder if the real job security in Washington isn't policy-making, but market-making, all while the public gets sold a bill of goods (and not the good
kind).