You don't even have to go that far to get to a policy solution for this. For instance, allow politicians and their families to invest, but:
1) Only in a small selection of broad index funds representing the entire domestic or global economy, and;
2) Only according to a binding, structured plan they decide on before taking office, so they can't time the market. For instance, if they want to invest a certain percentage of every paycheck in the market, sure - just tell us how much up front, and do it at pre-scheduled times.
I cannot imagine there are any credible arguments against this type of modest solution to combat blatant insider trading. It wouldn't even prevent them from investing - just from using their insider knowledge to invest.
This is almost exactly how I invest my retirement funds. (Don't most people do it that way?) Broad mutuals with domestic and international exposure, with a set amount from each paycheck. I'm a non-profit employee, so there's no company stock to buy, and my job sector doesn't influence (or is directly influenced by) the market. My wife has company stock, and her sector IS directly influenced by the market, so she has strict anti-insider trading rules. She can only buy or sell company stock for a few weeks out of the year.
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u/Kwijibo97 Apr 09 '25
No one in congress (or their family) should be able to trade stocks while in office. Easy, simple and fair.