Government oversight has gotten sloppy, and with a wink and a nod and no one really watching them, at least no one with power to do something, elected federal officials can safely engage in unethical and even criminal conduct that would land lesser mortals like you and me in jail, or at least cost us our jobs.
If you want to see the worst of runaway corruption, take a look at the four years of the Trump administration and how Trump, his family members and political appointees spent a lot of their time cashing in on their positions. Even once they're out of power, they can still cash in. Jared heads to Saudi Arabia to gather big bucks for his new hedge fund, while Trump fundraises many millions from his gullible followers who believe the Big Lie and want to help Trump battle against those who supposedly did him dirt, not realizing that those millions will largely wind up in Donald's pockets.
It's been an open and dirty secret that lobbyists, whose numbers have exploded in recent years, wine and dine and give special perks in order to convince Senators, Congressmen and top agency officials to vote or handle/ignore legislative requirements just the way the employers of the lobbyists want them to.
Ever wonder how a typical member of Congress, who enters federal service without much money, is able to retire not just on their government pension but with millions of dollars in bank accounts here and abroad, a beautiful estate and a cushy life in retirement? For lobbyists, it's a no-brainer: just give a solid stock tip to your pigeon, enabling that person to make some hundreds of thousands of dollars in the market and in the process the lobbyist gets a key vote on a committee considering a regulation that will save their employer tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars going forward. As the saying goes, a penny gets you a pound. Cheap any way you look at it; no wonder K Street is making a killing.
When was the last time an elected, or unelected, government official got busted so badly they went to prison for, let's say, insider trading? It's rare, but it happens. Occasionally individual investors or Wall Street folks do get busted and go to prison, sometimes for years but the occasional celebrity conviction is a smoke screen taking attention away from all the others who are doing the same thing.
It's a rich person's game. Money buys you influence, and influence buys you ever more money. And with politicians working steadily to weaken the IRS and the SEC, there are fewer financial or legal cops on the beat. Hobble the regulatory cops, and white collar crime becomes the easy way to riches. And nothing ever changes.
All members of Congress and their senior staff, the President and his Cabinet members and senior advisors, all Supreme Court justices and senior staff, and other senior government officials should have all their investments in a blind trust, managed by a disinterested party, period. They should have no idea where their money is invested to prevent the information from influencing their actions.
Will do. I will send my representatives some letters and weave it in to my on-line and person to person discussions.
May I suggest another strategy? All of us have local government officials - people that we elect like city council members, county supervisors and school board members. Local government meetings begin with a public comment section, but even in large cities, just a handful of citizens show up. And that needs to stop.
People take their local governments for granted. They'll fill out their ballots, cast votes for President Congress, Governor, etc. but won't even bother voting for local government candidates. They leave those sections blank or close their eyes and choose one. Shame, shame, shame. There is so little interest in local government, the typical campaign for city council hovers around $200.00. Big cities, bigger populations, bigger campaign budgets, but still the same pathetic percentage of civic interest, or engagement.
The Republicans are busy filling these local government positions with hand chosen people. People they are coaching and advising. And they are funding their campaigns. Its dirt cheap politics. For a measly $1,000. bucks, they can buy control of a school board, a city council or a board of supervisors. In his district, Kevin McCarthy is famous for showing up for a photo-op with some unknown candidate for local government office. That photo-op is all it takes to get someone elected.
I suggest we start attending at least one local government meeting a month. You don't have to do or say anything. All you have to do is show up and sit there until the meeting is adjourned. I can tell you - no I promise you - that just showing up makes a difference. Building a civic show-up network is the key to activists' success - and citizens' success. continued
Congressional lawmakers should not be allowed to trade stocks. Period. Their holdings should be in a blind trust when they enter government. However the consequences of Congressmen owning stock is far more harmful to American lives. Richard Burr and others not only knew of the severity of Covid but HID that knowledge until they were able to financially leverage big bucks for themselves first. They withheld catastrophic information about a pandemic to make money in pharmaceutical stocks. Diane Feinstein has for YEARS made money on the armaments industry. Feinstein's in Congress, keeps our "forever wars" going and her husband is the money guy behind her doing the investing. They're a team, Feinstein keeps the wars going and her husband keeps the money rolling in. Geez, the corruption in Congress is way worse than anyone can imagine. How many Americans have died in these endless wars because Congressman could enrich themselves sacrificing the lives of their citizens. Feinstein is not the only one. With this level of corruption where does it end? Ever? How bad does American life become because of practices like these? The AG hasn't done anything about Mark Meadows, why should Kevin McCarthy not get away with giving "the bird" to the January 6th committee. My point is this, IT'S ALL CORRUPT. Now what?
While employed as a federal employee we received ethics training. The rule of thumb was, if something has even the possible appearance of being a conflict of interest/unethical, DONβT DO IT.
Before anything else, I want to let you know that I shared your last video, "Taking on your tweets," on Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit with the following comment: "Robert Reich is the medication that corporate media brained-washed Americans should take every day!" More mean tweets coming your way...
Speaking of sickness, our representatives are ailed with FOMO. They consider themselves important public servants but do not want to miss out on the money either. They should probably be reminded that the United States is a country, not just a shopping mall.
Almost more than anything else, I am ashamed of our legislators who almost never put the country before their partisan or personal interests. Few are there who display the genuine qualities of "leadership".
Interesting that you mention index funds, as my understanding is that generally speaking (I assume there are exceptions; always seem to be exceptions) index funds support a broad swath of businesses in the US economy & allowing investment in index funds by the country's representatives in Congress would thus support the broader economy if I am understanding correctly -- thus also aligning with the purpose of those that hold seats in Congress.
Will keep a eye out for when Ossoff brings this bill to the floor & do what I can to support/cajole/pressure others on the floor (& in states other than those in my neck of woods who do support this type of legislation) to support the passing of this particular bill.
Trading in individual stocks by members of Congress actually feels & sounds to me like said Congress members are "ripping off" the general populace in addition to not upholding their oath of office -- should be illegal & those that break such a badly needed rule should suffer heavy penalties, including loss of office.
As you said, It should be a no-brainer. It's so obvious that I can't help being suspicious of anyone who doesn't support it. Even the venerated Nancy Pelosi. We ask it of our President - for obvious reasons - and for the same reasons we should ask it of anyone who serves in higher office. There is no ground for debate.
There should be one code of ethics for all federal positions which would include Congress, the President, the Supreme Court, etc. That code of ethics should not only cover stock tradings but also business dealings where the federal employee or family members (elected, appointed, etc) must recuse themselves from any decision making, rule making, etc. that may impact their business/financial interest. This would preclude someone like Joe Manchin from having any say on environmental rules related to the fossil fuel industry. I could go on and on on the lack of trust people have regarding governmental decision makers due to a lack of enforcement of a strong code of ethics.
You know, Robert, this is just ONE example of why the general public does not trust it's own government. Why Should They??? There is so much corruption surrounding the whole governing system that people doen't even know who to trust, much less support or vote for. The rest of the world is showing signs of mistrust toward our government. I think it is safe to say that a lot of people (especially Independent Voters} are very leary about expecting much REAL support from their government both now and in the future. It might be better in the future to NOT remind the public of these kinds of "Crimes Against Justice". There is really nothing that the general population of our country can do to get our governing appointed agents to respect our existing Constitution of Laws. We don't seem to have a very good screening system of who should be allowed to run for the office of anything in our government system. And if all of that is not enough, I would like to know if there are any limitations on who can run for all of the jobs that people vote on throughout the entire USA. Any kind of background checks that should exist? Our Government is in BIG trouble on so many levels, and nobody knows how to deal with all of these issues. My personal outlook on all of this is that the existing government appointed people are going to have to do the job for the entire nation. The general public's only strength left is our VOTE. Even that is under assault from the criminal elected subject's that currently seem to have the power to obstruct voting rights. Everything is up to our current Government elected officials. Not a very promising picture considering who we have left that can be trusted.
It makes me livid. For heavenβs sake, didnβt Martha Stewart do time for this? If the Democrats wonβt do the right thing, what party do we have left? None.
Government oversight has gotten sloppy, and with a wink and a nod and no one really watching them, at least no one with power to do something, elected federal officials can safely engage in unethical and even criminal conduct that would land lesser mortals like you and me in jail, or at least cost us our jobs.
If you want to see the worst of runaway corruption, take a look at the four years of the Trump administration and how Trump, his family members and political appointees spent a lot of their time cashing in on their positions. Even once they're out of power, they can still cash in. Jared heads to Saudi Arabia to gather big bucks for his new hedge fund, while Trump fundraises many millions from his gullible followers who believe the Big Lie and want to help Trump battle against those who supposedly did him dirt, not realizing that those millions will largely wind up in Donald's pockets.
It's been an open and dirty secret that lobbyists, whose numbers have exploded in recent years, wine and dine and give special perks in order to convince Senators, Congressmen and top agency officials to vote or handle/ignore legislative requirements just the way the employers of the lobbyists want them to.
Ever wonder how a typical member of Congress, who enters federal service without much money, is able to retire not just on their government pension but with millions of dollars in bank accounts here and abroad, a beautiful estate and a cushy life in retirement? For lobbyists, it's a no-brainer: just give a solid stock tip to your pigeon, enabling that person to make some hundreds of thousands of dollars in the market and in the process the lobbyist gets a key vote on a committee considering a regulation that will save their employer tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars going forward. As the saying goes, a penny gets you a pound. Cheap any way you look at it; no wonder K Street is making a killing.
When was the last time an elected, or unelected, government official got busted so badly they went to prison for, let's say, insider trading? It's rare, but it happens. Occasionally individual investors or Wall Street folks do get busted and go to prison, sometimes for years but the occasional celebrity conviction is a smoke screen taking attention away from all the others who are doing the same thing.
It's a rich person's game. Money buys you influence, and influence buys you ever more money. And with politicians working steadily to weaken the IRS and the SEC, there are fewer financial or legal cops on the beat. Hobble the regulatory cops, and white collar crime becomes the easy way to riches. And nothing ever changes.
All members of Congress and their senior staff, the President and his Cabinet members and senior advisors, all Supreme Court justices and senior staff, and other senior government officials should have all their investments in a blind trust, managed by a disinterested party, period. They should have no idea where their money is invested to prevent the information from influencing their actions.
Will do. I will send my representatives some letters and weave it in to my on-line and person to person discussions.
May I suggest another strategy? All of us have local government officials - people that we elect like city council members, county supervisors and school board members. Local government meetings begin with a public comment section, but even in large cities, just a handful of citizens show up. And that needs to stop.
People take their local governments for granted. They'll fill out their ballots, cast votes for President Congress, Governor, etc. but won't even bother voting for local government candidates. They leave those sections blank or close their eyes and choose one. Shame, shame, shame. There is so little interest in local government, the typical campaign for city council hovers around $200.00. Big cities, bigger populations, bigger campaign budgets, but still the same pathetic percentage of civic interest, or engagement.
The Republicans are busy filling these local government positions with hand chosen people. People they are coaching and advising. And they are funding their campaigns. Its dirt cheap politics. For a measly $1,000. bucks, they can buy control of a school board, a city council or a board of supervisors. In his district, Kevin McCarthy is famous for showing up for a photo-op with some unknown candidate for local government office. That photo-op is all it takes to get someone elected.
I suggest we start attending at least one local government meeting a month. You don't have to do or say anything. All you have to do is show up and sit there until the meeting is adjourned. I can tell you - no I promise you - that just showing up makes a difference. Building a civic show-up network is the key to activists' success - and citizens' success. continued
Congressional lawmakers should not be allowed to trade stocks. Period. Their holdings should be in a blind trust when they enter government. However the consequences of Congressmen owning stock is far more harmful to American lives. Richard Burr and others not only knew of the severity of Covid but HID that knowledge until they were able to financially leverage big bucks for themselves first. They withheld catastrophic information about a pandemic to make money in pharmaceutical stocks. Diane Feinstein has for YEARS made money on the armaments industry. Feinstein's in Congress, keeps our "forever wars" going and her husband is the money guy behind her doing the investing. They're a team, Feinstein keeps the wars going and her husband keeps the money rolling in. Geez, the corruption in Congress is way worse than anyone can imagine. How many Americans have died in these endless wars because Congressman could enrich themselves sacrificing the lives of their citizens. Feinstein is not the only one. With this level of corruption where does it end? Ever? How bad does American life become because of practices like these? The AG hasn't done anything about Mark Meadows, why should Kevin McCarthy not get away with giving "the bird" to the January 6th committee. My point is this, IT'S ALL CORRUPT. Now what?
While employed as a federal employee we received ethics training. The rule of thumb was, if something has even the possible appearance of being a conflict of interest/unethical, DONβT DO IT.
So simple!
Yet, apparently, so difficult.
Dear Sir,
Before anything else, I want to let you know that I shared your last video, "Taking on your tweets," on Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit with the following comment: "Robert Reich is the medication that corporate media brained-washed Americans should take every day!" More mean tweets coming your way...
Speaking of sickness, our representatives are ailed with FOMO. They consider themselves important public servants but do not want to miss out on the money either. They should probably be reminded that the United States is a country, not just a shopping mall.
Is there a petition out to send to our representatives to pass this act? if so, please post and I will sign.
Almost more than anything else, I am ashamed of our legislators who almost never put the country before their partisan or personal interests. Few are there who display the genuine qualities of "leadership".
This is a no brainer for anyone with integrity.
Totally agree & power to Ossoff!
Interesting that you mention index funds, as my understanding is that generally speaking (I assume there are exceptions; always seem to be exceptions) index funds support a broad swath of businesses in the US economy & allowing investment in index funds by the country's representatives in Congress would thus support the broader economy if I am understanding correctly -- thus also aligning with the purpose of those that hold seats in Congress.
Will keep a eye out for when Ossoff brings this bill to the floor & do what I can to support/cajole/pressure others on the floor (& in states other than those in my neck of woods who do support this type of legislation) to support the passing of this particular bill.
Trading in individual stocks by members of Congress actually feels & sounds to me like said Congress members are "ripping off" the general populace in addition to not upholding their oath of office -- should be illegal & those that break such a badly needed rule should suffer heavy penalties, including loss of office.
As you said, It should be a no-brainer. It's so obvious that I can't help being suspicious of anyone who doesn't support it. Even the venerated Nancy Pelosi. We ask it of our President - for obvious reasons - and for the same reasons we should ask it of anyone who serves in higher office. There is no ground for debate.
There should be one code of ethics for all federal positions which would include Congress, the President, the Supreme Court, etc. That code of ethics should not only cover stock tradings but also business dealings where the federal employee or family members (elected, appointed, etc) must recuse themselves from any decision making, rule making, etc. that may impact their business/financial interest. This would preclude someone like Joe Manchin from having any say on environmental rules related to the fossil fuel industry. I could go on and on on the lack of trust people have regarding governmental decision makers due to a lack of enforcement of a strong code of ethics.
You know, Robert, this is just ONE example of why the general public does not trust it's own government. Why Should They??? There is so much corruption surrounding the whole governing system that people doen't even know who to trust, much less support or vote for. The rest of the world is showing signs of mistrust toward our government. I think it is safe to say that a lot of people (especially Independent Voters} are very leary about expecting much REAL support from their government both now and in the future. It might be better in the future to NOT remind the public of these kinds of "Crimes Against Justice". There is really nothing that the general population of our country can do to get our governing appointed agents to respect our existing Constitution of Laws. We don't seem to have a very good screening system of who should be allowed to run for the office of anything in our government system. And if all of that is not enough, I would like to know if there are any limitations on who can run for all of the jobs that people vote on throughout the entire USA. Any kind of background checks that should exist? Our Government is in BIG trouble on so many levels, and nobody knows how to deal with all of these issues. My personal outlook on all of this is that the existing government appointed people are going to have to do the job for the entire nation. The general public's only strength left is our VOTE. Even that is under assault from the criminal elected subject's that currently seem to have the power to obstruct voting rights. Everything is up to our current Government elected officials. Not a very promising picture considering who we have left that can be trusted.
It makes me livid. For heavenβs sake, didnβt Martha Stewart do time for this? If the Democrats wonβt do the right thing, what party do we have left? None.
Our Representatives should be in office to serve the people. PERIOD. There should be no opportunities for self enrichment.
BOTH HOUSES = PASS A BASIC LAW _ PROHIBITING THIS BEHAVIOR + JUST STOP = NO MORE !!