Thanks for keeping track of how corrupt our lawmakers are on both sides. I'm glad The Bulwark is holding them accountable because literally no one else is.
Thanks for keeping track of how corrupt our lawmakers are on both sides. I'm glad The Bulwark is holding them accountable because literally no one else is.
Its all an unseemly and gross looking, otherwise known as the appearance of corruption. The corrosive effect of that appearance on public trust and standing of the government is reason enough to impose significant legal restrictions on stock trading by members of congress. That said, its important to recognize that the appearance of corruption and actual corruption are not the same thing, and not all acts of corruption are created equal. The only example listed there that looks like its possibly an act of true corruption is MTG and the trades she made immediately before Trump announced his delay, the timing of which suggests she was engaged in insider trading and an act of true corruption.
These distinctions are important, because overbroad condemnations of corruption that treat mere appearances and petty acts as equal to serious corruption wrongly brings everyone down to the same level as the most corrupt official and ultimately inures to the benefit of the worst of the worst actors, the most corrupt of the corrupt get off easier than they should when everyone is perceived to be on the same level. Making sure that doesn't happen and distinctions can be clearly made between what is and isn't corrupt is also another excellent reason for reforms that prevent these unseemly appearances by prohibiting congressional stock trades to begin with, but until that happens its up to us members of the public to understand and draw these distinctions ourselves.
Thanks for keeping track of how corrupt our lawmakers are on both sides. I'm glad The Bulwark is holding them accountable because literally no one else is.
I agree with you. It must be so tempting with insider info. Members of Congress should be banned from trading.
Its all an unseemly and gross looking, otherwise known as the appearance of corruption. The corrosive effect of that appearance on public trust and standing of the government is reason enough to impose significant legal restrictions on stock trading by members of congress. That said, its important to recognize that the appearance of corruption and actual corruption are not the same thing, and not all acts of corruption are created equal. The only example listed there that looks like its possibly an act of true corruption is MTG and the trades she made immediately before Trump announced his delay, the timing of which suggests she was engaged in insider trading and an act of true corruption.
These distinctions are important, because overbroad condemnations of corruption that treat mere appearances and petty acts as equal to serious corruption wrongly brings everyone down to the same level as the most corrupt official and ultimately inures to the benefit of the worst of the worst actors, the most corrupt of the corrupt get off easier than they should when everyone is perceived to be on the same level. Making sure that doesn't happen and distinctions can be clearly made between what is and isn't corrupt is also another excellent reason for reforms that prevent these unseemly appearances by prohibiting congressional stock trades to begin with, but until that happens its up to us members of the public to understand and draw these distinctions ourselves.