Insider trading by the Congress revealed on 60 Minutes.

Miscellaneous Current Events
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Link

The report singles out a few members of Congress, including:

  • Congressman Spencer Bachus, then ranking Republican member on the House Financial Services Committee, who bought option funds that would increase in value if the market went down after attending closed-door sessions in September 2008 on the pending financial meltdown, according to the report.
  • Republican House speaker leader John Boehner, who bought health insurance stocks while fighting a so-called public option during the health-care debate in 2009, when he was the House minority leader. Those stocks skyrocketed in value after the public option was killed, according to the report.
  • And Democrat Congresswoman Nanci Pelosi, the former House speaker, and her husband, who participated in a initial public offering from Visa just as credit card legislation was moving through the House, according to the report. At the time, the legislation never made it to the House floor. Meanwhile, the value of Pelosi’s stocks increased from $44 per share to $64 per share.

Something that’s been known for quite some time, but it’s blowing up right now thanks to 60 Minutes.

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It’s legal for them to do it. Their laws are for the people. :confused:

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From LRC post from Economic Collapse Blog:

12 Facts About Money and Congress That Are So Outrageous That It Is Hard To Believe That They Are Actually True

#1 The collective net worth of all of the members of Congress increased by 25 percent between 2008 and 2010.

#2 The collective net worth of all of the members of Congress is now slightly over 2 billion dollars. That is “billion” with a “b”.

#3 This happened during a time when the net worth of most American households was declining rapidly. According to the Federal Reserve, the collective net worth of all American households decreased by 23 percent between 2007 and 2009.

#4 The average net worth for a member of Congress is now approximately 3.8 million dollars.

#5 The net worth of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi increased by 62 percent from 2009 to 2010. In 2009 it was reported that she had a net worth of 21.7 million dollars, and in 2010 it was reported that she had a net worth of 35.2 million dollars.

#6 The top Republican in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, saw his wealth grow by 29 percent from 2009 to 2010. He is now worth approximately 9.8 million dollars.

#7 More than 50 percent of the members of the U.S. Congress are millionaires.

#8 In 2008, the average cost of winning a seat in the House of Representatives was $1.1 million and the average cost of winning a seat in the U.S. Senate was $6.5 million. Spending on political campaigns has gotten way out of control.

#9 Insider trading is perfectly legal for members of the U.S. Congress – and they refuse to pass a law that would change that.

#10 The percentage of millionaires in Congress is more than 50 times higher than the percentage of millionaires in the general population.

#11 U.S. Representative Darrell Issa is worth approximately 220 million dollars. His wealth grew by approximately 37 percent from 2009 to 2010.

#12 The wealthiest member of Congress, U.S. Representative Michael McCaul, is worth approximately 294 million dollars.

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If this doesn’t show the moral hazard inherent in the notion of a single ultimate source of decision-making authority, I don’t know what does.

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I like the way that Autolykos put it.

The only place in the country where slander is legal, literally, is the floor of the Congress.