Why It Matters Pelosi, longtime Democratic U.S. representative for California, has centered her time in office around progressive politics, calling for health care reform, minimum wage increases and environmentalism.
As stock owners and multimillionaires abound in Congress from both the Democratic and Republican parties, fears of insider trading and conflicts of interest have lingered.
What To Know Pelosi has from $50,001 to $100,000 in Tempus AI Class A stock that she purchased January 14, according to her financial disclosures.
Tempus AI is a Chicago-based company developing medicine solutions using patient data, with a focus on cancer, infectious disease and mental health.
When Pelosi first purchased Tempus, the stock was priced at $31.83 and has now grown in value to $70.08.
Pelosi's financial disclosures have garnered skepticism over the past month, as she sold Nvidia stock, another major player in the AI world, just a few weeks before it dramatically dropped in price.
Other members of Congress, including Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and GOP Senator Josh Hawley, have pushed to end individual stock trading by lawmakers as a way to avoid conflicts of interest.
Hawley previously said in a statement: "Year after year, politicians somehow manage to outperform the market, buying and selling millions in stocks of companies they're supposed to be regulating. Wall Street and Big Tech work hand-in-hand with elected officials to enrich each other at the expense of the country. Here's something we can do: ban all members of Congress from trading stocks and force those who do to pay their proceeds back to the American people. It's time to stop turning a blind eye to Washington profiteering."
It's amazing how politicians' portfolios outperform other investors, surely there's no insider trading of information going on................
It is worse than insider trading. Congress has the ability to pick winners and losers. An insider will only know what is happening inside of their company. Even with insider knowledge, there is still the chance that their competitor can do something that makes the knowledge useless or detrimental. Congress on the other hand has the ability to completely reshape entire industries. By doing so, they have the ultimate power to choose who wins and who loses.
IMO anyone in the government with over 10X median income in individual stocks should be required to put it in a blind trust.
It is worse than insider trading. Congress has the ability to pick winners and losers. An insider will only know what is happening inside of their company. Even with insider knowledge, there is still the chance that their competitor can do something that makes the knowledge useless or detrimental. Congress on the other hand has the ability to completely reshape entire industries. By doing so, they have the ultimate power to choose who wins and who loses.
IMO anyone in the government with over 10X median income in individual stocks should be required to put it in a blind trust.
AGREED!
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The proverbial saying "power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely" conveys the opinion that as a person's power increases, their moral sense diminishes. The essence of this quote is that when individuals or groups are granted power, there is a risk that they will abuse it for their own gain or become tyrannical in their actions. This idiom means that those in power often do not have the people’s best interests in mind.
This seems especially true of Democrat Leadership. That doesn't mean there aren't some Republicans guilty also. But, Pelosi, Biden and several others are prime examples. While I do sincerely support new laws restricting our elected leaders from investments while in power, I also strongly support "Term Limits" for every House and Senate official. That is not to say that many go to Washington with their electorate's best interest in mind but, it's not long before they all seem to lose their concern for the public good regardless of what they say.
I like the idea of banning politicians doing trades (ditto for their families). Perhaps their funds could be parked in some Government-managed fund (or even some Monkey-managed fund, since research has shown they out-perform people). We wouldn't want these valuable folks to miss out on 'their fair share.'
