Having "insider trading" be illegal always seemed a bit comical to me. Not because I necessarily think it is not unethical (I see arguments both for and against

Having "insider trading" be illegal always seemed a bit comical to me. Not because I necessarily think it is not unethical (I see arguments both for and against it) but because in a world where people are allowed to meet together and communicate, freely, with privacy, in "secrecy" and nothing recorded, then, well, I think it's inevitable that it's going to happen. Person A knows X. Person B can profit if he were to learn X. Somehow, person A's knowledge gets to B, either directly or through some middle-man. B profits. Person A gets some sort of renumeration, perhaps directly, perhaps more indirectly. It is so easy to setup whatever indirect chain of communication or renumeration you desire in order to achieve "secrecy" and/or legality and/or plausible deniability. Not to say that I've done it. But I have done it as a thought experiment to figure out how it could work. And there's plenty of circumstantial evidence that others are doing it for real. Reminds me of how prostitution is illegal (in most places) in the US. But only if done in the most literal and narrowly-proscribed and blatant of ways. But if it's in a little more indirect or creative way, suddenly that's legal.