New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley are introducing bipartisan legislation that would prevent members of the executive and legislative branches — as well as their spouses and children — from trading individual company stocks.
IMO every other issue in congress stems from blatant conflict of interest like this, and like donations. To a point where even if youre a single issue voter for something like healthcare, or budget, etc, this is still the first step to resolving your concern. How are drug and health insurance prices ever going to be regulated in favor of those that need it, if representatives financially benefit from doing the opposite?
People elected to federal government are already entitled to salaries they can comfortably live on. And they should really be living on that exclusively while serving.
It’s amazing to me how passionately people I’ve known personally will defend politicians ‘right’ to effectively profit from their service far beyond their salaries. Arguments like “If we don’t let them earn more money talented people won’t enter politics” and “It’s not fair to punish them for being successful”. It’s just insane to me.
just one of those symptoms of the belief that only money=success.
Unfortunately money and success are strongly correlated, it’s just not cause and effect.
Yeah, that’s why talented people never enter teaching or the sciences. Though, to be fair, I’d be a bit wary of giving power to someone whose passion in life was politics.