3 ms·

I've got a slight improvement to your idea. Instead of publishing the trades after, or as they make them, instead publish them before they make them. Require a

I've got a slight improvement to your idea. Instead of publishing the trades after, or as they make them, instead publish them before they make them. Require any congress-person who wishes to trade a stock to write a plan saying "I will buy/sell roughly this many dollars worth of these shares on this date", and require the plan to be published a week before the trade is executed. We already require CEOs and company officers at large companies to do similar plans (though they do not have to publish them publicly ahead of time), and requiring our government officials to act as sorta officers of the entire economy seems kinda fair. They have material information on many different things. Making them decide on trades weeks or months in advance seems like it should prevent day trading, while still letting them invest in reasonable portfolios if they want.

Bostonian 5y ago
The difference between our views is that I want government insiders to trade on their information, as long as their trades are soon publicized, so that the information is quickly incorporated into market prices. Slowing down their trading by making them wait a week interferes with that.
gamerDude 5y ago
When I worked in a financial trading firm, I had to submit trades that I would make 3 days before hand and then get them approved to make sure I had no relationship to that stock. The same seems fine with me for any government official. Make a trade request, gets published publicly, a legal body reviews and allows or denies.
- sumedh 5y ago
  > a legal body reviews and allows or denies. Who will be the members of the legal body?
  - iaw 5y ago
    Congr- Oh.... I see what you did there.
- atlasunshrugged 5y ago
  This makes perfect sense to me and there are oversight bodies within congress, the folks on the house modernization committee could probably whip up a tool too. Just has to be the will to do so & I'm not sure there's enough outrage on the issue.
mythrwy 5y ago
This is the best idea yet in my opinion.

Bostonian 5y ago

The difference between our views is that I want government insiders to trade on their information, as long as their trades are soon publicized, so that the information is quickly incorporated into market prices. Slowing down their trading by making them wait a week interferes with that.

gamerDude 5y ago

When I worked in a financial trading firm, I had to submit trades that I would make 3 days before hand and then get them approved to make sure I had no relationship to that stock. The same seems fine with me for any government official. Make a trade request, gets published publicly, a legal body reviews and allows or denies.

sumedh 5y ago
> a legal body reviews and allows or denies. Who will be the members of the legal body?
- iaw 5y ago
  Congr- Oh.... I see what you did there.
atlasunshrugged 5y ago
This makes perfect sense to me and there are oversight bodies within congress, the folks on the house modernization committee could probably whip up a tool too. Just has to be the will to do so & I'm not sure there's enough outrage on the issue.

mythrwy 5y ago

This is the best idea yet in my opinion.