WHAT’S CHANGED AMERICA???
BY KEVIN R. BROCK, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR THE HILL
“People in power, they’ll do anything to keep their crown.” — Mary Gauthier, “Mercy Now”In 1978, the FBI launched an undercover investigation designed around a fictional Middle Eastern company seeking permits for casino operations in Atlantic City. The case didn’t start out targeting federal officials, but soon seven members of Congress bellied up to the trough and accepted bribes in exchange for influence and favors. Indictments and convictions followed, and the legislative branch was left red-faced. . According to a site that monitors congressional investors, members of Congress and/or their families who traded stocks in 2021, on average, out-performed comparable samples within the S&P 500, making over 3,500 transactions totaling $555 million in value, with an average hold of a little over 100 days. Thankfully, only about a fifth of Congress or their families actively trade, according to required disclosure filings. But the ones who do are in positions of influence in both parties. The top Democrat investor family is that of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), with returns of nearly 50 percent in 2021. Pelosi defended her family’s right to invest while she had special access to interesting information. Well, of course she did — the Pelosis are killing it.
WHAT’S CHANGED AMERICA???
BY KEVIN R. BROCK, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR THE HILL
“People in power, they’ll do anything to keep their crown.” — Mary Gauthier, “Mercy Now”In 1978, the FBI launched an undercover investigation designed around a fictional Middle Eastern company seeking permits for casino operations in Atlantic City. The case didn’t start out targeting federal officials, but soon seven members of Congress bellied up to the trough and accepted bribes in exchange for influence and favors. Indictments and convictions followed, and the legislative branch was left red-faced. . According to a site that monitors congressional investors, members of Congress and/or their families who traded stocks in 2021, on average, out-performed comparable samples within the S&P 500, making over 3,500 transactions totaling $555 million in value, with an average hold of a little over 100 days. Thankfully, only about a fifth of Congress or their families actively trade, according to required disclosure filings. But the ones who do are in positions of influence in both parties. The top Democrat investor family is that of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), with returns of nearly 50 percent in 2021. Pelosi defended her family’s right to invest while she had special access to interesting information. Well, of course she did — the Pelosis are killing it.