Thank you for the article, Catherine. I enjoyed your interview you did on television. Mainly I listened to Paul Krugman. He is a very intuitive person and knowledgeable about economics. 3. 1 percent inflation with President Biden more with Trump and he is getting his own counsel on the matter of economic justice for all Americans, which is not happening now because of oil prices, tariffs. If you like Independent journalism and Media please subscribe to The Bulwark.
Aye. The “American people” may not care about saving democracy but they would care about the rule of law and corruption for exactly the reasons you outline. I hope these insider deals are highlighted in the up coming campaigns.
Stellar reporting as usual, Catherine. But, depressing as hell. The most disheartening thing is that all this corruption is right in plain sight, and no one does anything about it. It's been that way since his first awful term, and it's so much worse now. I think I'm going to start my weekend news moratorium early. I can only take so much.
Economists like efficient markets where stock prices reflect all relevant information because they do a reasonable job in allocating capital, and so there’s a few libertarian, free-market economists who believe insider trading should be allowed because it makes the public stock price more “fundamentally accurate” since it reflects incremental information from private (insider) sources. Well, that may or may not be so, but I have long supported strong enforcement of our insider trading laws for the simple reason that they foster fairness and confidence in our investment markets.
That said, it’s unclear to me, as Catherine maintains, how non-insiders, i.e., the rest of us investors, are hurt by insider profits. I’m talking about buy-and-hold, passive investors. If an insider buys an underpriced stock, based on public AND insider information, and then profits as the inside information is announced to the public, e.g., a takeover premium, a new blockbuster drug approved by the FDA, and the price rises to its new, more accurate value, the existing shareholders will profit as well, and they may even have lower cost bases. The insiders, however, can use options to leverage their trades.
But if you’re a trader, then the seller of shares to the insider is unfairly handicapped because the insider is acting on information not available to the seller. It’s an unfair and unequal transaction. And perhaps even with passive investors who own indexed funds; If the fund needs to meet redemptions, it may need to sell securities of a company ultimately to an insider who is buying on information not publicly available for a day or two. But then indexed funds are not engaged in “price discovery” anyway, but that’s an issue for another day.
Well. Very insightful. And inspiring. I am inspired to cash in all investments, take the cash and bury it or hide it somewhere, stop paying taxes, and go off the grid. So much for enjoying my so called “golden years.” Time to hunker down.
Have always found the concept of O/L betting markets unhealthy having seen these create huge problems for some people (some betting operations based overseas? hell if I know) but seeing the potential for abuse (you mention polymarket?) makes me want them legislated out of existence, at least here.
Kudos for a superb Receipts article. We are in strong agreement; but yes, you and your compatriots there at The Bulwark are still missing something vital to our agenda. I beg you for the needed minute to read my little six hundred word 'article' pasted here; and then to let me know if you may be willing to discuss further. Sincere thanks. Keith.
THRASYMACHUS MEETS EVOLUTION AND ZERO SUM THINKING:
There is only so much of X (money, food, oil, water, arable land, etc.), so for me to get more of X the rest of you must take less; and through that imbalance my genes will be able to evolutionarily dominate yours. I will outcompete you for sexual access, and so have more offspring, and will be able to give my additional offspring competitive advantages – in diet, education and so on – that will ensure their ability to dominate your offspring; from which the cycle will then repeat, and so on.
This is basic and inescapable reality; ‘the way of the world’ as imposed on us – so, intrinsically, not my fault – by the competitive mechanism of evolution. Resistance to it is self-defeating, in that it can lead only to competitive disadvantage, and thereby ultimately to genetic elimination for the resisters. Its logical corollary is dominance as our only honest directive. If – through my failure to lie, cheat, steal, betray, etc. – I miss some competitive advantage that is not missed by my less scrupulous adversary then, and to my cost, he will gain in dominance.
So there is finally nothing but dominance. Reason, fairness, honesty, altruism and empathy are merely naïve comforters for the weak and foolish. There are many more of them than of me, so – as recommended by Machiavelli – I must be able to convincing fake these weaknesses as required to increase my dominance. But I’m way too smart and wise to fall for them.
I offer this as a statement of the Trump/Vance/Musk/Putin/Theil/Orban position in the unlikely event that they were to suddenly become willing to express it with honesty and precision. It is of course a large and stinking pile of garbage. It ignores everything good, noble and rational that our species has learned through and since the European Enlightenment. But until and unless our side can sufficiently recover its intellectual mojo for honest articulation of the powerful arguments which show it to be such a pile then our world will continue in its present downward spiral.
The corruption has to stop! Between the Oligarchy, Trump and family grifts to the insider trading - our democracy will be destroyed. Corruption is in every branch of our government.
I won’t vote for any candidate that has taken PAC money or large individual donations, even Dems. It sounds minuscule as one individual, but we have to start somewhere.
I would say that doing business either with or with the permission of Fearless Leader is more of the essence of fascism than invading countries or committing genocide.
As noted, using the Trump/Witkoff stablecoin* USD1 to do business rather than boring old dollars is an up and comer.
* You park your money with the regime--what makes the coins stable. They invest it, earning interest until and unless coins are redeemed. Good things like pardons or approvals of business deals come your way. In a little more than a year, the amount of money being sat on by USD1 went from zero to more than $5 billion, earning $200 million per year at 4%.
The school drone technology is absurd. Schools are not prisons and should not be "monitored" as if they are. I will quit the day my district employs scuh and idea, and I'm positive I'm not the only one. In what world can we afford drones and not school counselors? It's not necessary, it's just another way for some company to make money, from school systems that at least say they don't have it.
Great review of the MANY crimes being perpetuated on us regular "chumps". Gonna have to save it. Thanks Catherine
Thank you for the article, Catherine. I enjoyed your interview you did on television. Mainly I listened to Paul Krugman. He is a very intuitive person and knowledgeable about economics. 3. 1 percent inflation with President Biden more with Trump and he is getting his own counsel on the matter of economic justice for all Americans, which is not happening now because of oil prices, tariffs. If you like Independent journalism and Media please subscribe to The Bulwark.
Dismal science strikes again.
Aye. The “American people” may not care about saving democracy but they would care about the rule of law and corruption for exactly the reasons you outline. I hope these insider deals are highlighted in the up coming campaigns.
Stellar reporting as usual, Catherine. But, depressing as hell. The most disheartening thing is that all this corruption is right in plain sight, and no one does anything about it. It's been that way since his first awful term, and it's so much worse now. I think I'm going to start my weekend news moratorium early. I can only take so much.
Economists like efficient markets where stock prices reflect all relevant information because they do a reasonable job in allocating capital, and so there’s a few libertarian, free-market economists who believe insider trading should be allowed because it makes the public stock price more “fundamentally accurate” since it reflects incremental information from private (insider) sources. Well, that may or may not be so, but I have long supported strong enforcement of our insider trading laws for the simple reason that they foster fairness and confidence in our investment markets.
That said, it’s unclear to me, as Catherine maintains, how non-insiders, i.e., the rest of us investors, are hurt by insider profits. I’m talking about buy-and-hold, passive investors. If an insider buys an underpriced stock, based on public AND insider information, and then profits as the inside information is announced to the public, e.g., a takeover premium, a new blockbuster drug approved by the FDA, and the price rises to its new, more accurate value, the existing shareholders will profit as well, and they may even have lower cost bases. The insiders, however, can use options to leverage their trades.
But if you’re a trader, then the seller of shares to the insider is unfairly handicapped because the insider is acting on information not available to the seller. It’s an unfair and unequal transaction. And perhaps even with passive investors who own indexed funds; If the fund needs to meet redemptions, it may need to sell securities of a company ultimately to an insider who is buying on information not publicly available for a day or two. But then indexed funds are not engaged in “price discovery” anyway, but that’s an issue for another day.
Well. Very insightful. And inspiring. I am inspired to cash in all investments, take the cash and bury it or hide it somewhere, stop paying taxes, and go off the grid. So much for enjoying my so called “golden years.” Time to hunker down.
Keep at iut Catherine. We learn from you and need it to continue.
The Republican-led Congress clearly cares nothing about this. They have abandoned all principles of conservatism, such as upholding the rule of law.
Great read and super informative!
Another title for your excellent piece Catherine, “You’re either a cheat or a chump”!
Have always found the concept of O/L betting markets unhealthy having seen these create huge problems for some people (some betting operations based overseas? hell if I know) but seeing the potential for abuse (you mention polymarket?) makes me want them legislated out of existence, at least here.
Dear Ms Rampell,
Kudos for a superb Receipts article. We are in strong agreement; but yes, you and your compatriots there at The Bulwark are still missing something vital to our agenda. I beg you for the needed minute to read my little six hundred word 'article' pasted here; and then to let me know if you may be willing to discuss further. Sincere thanks. Keith.
THRASYMACHUS MEETS EVOLUTION AND ZERO SUM THINKING:
There is only so much of X (money, food, oil, water, arable land, etc.), so for me to get more of X the rest of you must take less; and through that imbalance my genes will be able to evolutionarily dominate yours. I will outcompete you for sexual access, and so have more offspring, and will be able to give my additional offspring competitive advantages – in diet, education and so on – that will ensure their ability to dominate your offspring; from which the cycle will then repeat, and so on.
This is basic and inescapable reality; ‘the way of the world’ as imposed on us – so, intrinsically, not my fault – by the competitive mechanism of evolution. Resistance to it is self-defeating, in that it can lead only to competitive disadvantage, and thereby ultimately to genetic elimination for the resisters. Its logical corollary is dominance as our only honest directive. If – through my failure to lie, cheat, steal, betray, etc. – I miss some competitive advantage that is not missed by my less scrupulous adversary then, and to my cost, he will gain in dominance.
So there is finally nothing but dominance. Reason, fairness, honesty, altruism and empathy are merely naïve comforters for the weak and foolish. There are many more of them than of me, so – as recommended by Machiavelli – I must be able to convincing fake these weaknesses as required to increase my dominance. But I’m way too smart and wise to fall for them.
I offer this as a statement of the Trump/Vance/Musk/Putin/Theil/Orban position in the unlikely event that they were to suddenly become willing to express it with honesty and precision. It is of course a large and stinking pile of garbage. It ignores everything good, noble and rational that our species has learned through and since the European Enlightenment. But until and unless our side can sufficiently recover its intellectual mojo for honest articulation of the powerful arguments which show it to be such a pile then our world will continue in its present downward spiral.
The corruption has to stop! Between the Oligarchy, Trump and family grifts to the insider trading - our democracy will be destroyed. Corruption is in every branch of our government.
I won’t vote for any candidate that has taken PAC money or large individual donations, even Dems. It sounds minuscule as one individual, but we have to start somewhere.
I would say that doing business either with or with the permission of Fearless Leader is more of the essence of fascism than invading countries or committing genocide.
As noted, using the Trump/Witkoff stablecoin* USD1 to do business rather than boring old dollars is an up and comer.
* You park your money with the regime--what makes the coins stable. They invest it, earning interest until and unless coins are redeemed. Good things like pardons or approvals of business deals come your way. In a little more than a year, the amount of money being sat on by USD1 went from zero to more than $5 billion, earning $200 million per year at 4%.
The school drone technology is absurd. Schools are not prisons and should not be "monitored" as if they are. I will quit the day my district employs scuh and idea, and I'm positive I'm not the only one. In what world can we afford drones and not school counselors? It's not necessary, it's just another way for some company to make money, from school systems that at least say they don't have it.