Blog Post 2.5

1. What is a financial - disclosure record?

it is a history of what type of investments legislators make.

2. Why do we need those?

 to keep track of them

3. Which one of John Kerry's jobs in the Senate is mentioned? What does that mean he is responsible for?

chairman of the heath subcommittee. he is responsible for the drug legislation

4. What was John Boehner doing during health care reform debates?

he was the house majority leader and was investing tens of thousands of dollars in health-insurance-company stocks

5. What is insider trading?

insider trading of a corporations stocks by individuals with potential access to non-public information about the company

6. What do the House and Senate ethics rules say about congressmen's stock ownership?

it states that a member’s recusal from a vote affecting his or her stock portfolio “might be denying a voice” in the process.

7. What suspicious activity did former Speaker Nancy Pelosi take part in?

Her husband invested between $1 and $5 million on Visa when she was Speaker of the House

8. How will the Tea Party and Occupy movements likely respond to this book?

 The book arrived at a moment when the populist anger and resentment of the Tea Party and Occupy movements have melded into a kind of generalized outrage toward a system that seems geared to protect the interests of the few.

9. What does the author (of the book) say is his main problem with politicians?

 the political elite dont have to really abide by the rules that the average person does

Congress: Trading Stock on inside info?

 There are many perks to being a Congressman besides the salary. The biggest challenge of a congressman is resisting temptation. Some congressmen and senators manage to accumulate significant wealth beyond their salaries and are adept at buying and selling stocks. The rules are conveniently written so that they don't have to worry about them. It is illegal for normal people to do so, but congressmen are exempt from these rules. Backus says that he never trades stocks for non-public info but his financial disclosure report indicates otherwise.

What counts as inside info?

Congressional hearings are pre-staged. Most work gets done in off the record meetings, telephone calls, and behind closed doors. Knowing how something is going to affect a company and knowing whats going to happen to a certain section of the economy before everyone else is essential. Tha'ts why people turn to lobbyists. 

 Keeping Congress clean 

Congressmen must hold themselves to a higher standard. We're holding everyone to a standard that we refuse to hold ourselves to. This opens up room for abuse. The invitation for abuse opens up disdain for the government. Even though people tend to say that they don't trust Congress, it can be a beautiful institution.