Staff Reports
President Biden has jumped onto the bandwagon of banning stock trading for members of Congress, suddenly discovering a moral high ground amidst his extensive tenure in Washington. In an interview with a Bernie Sanders aide, he declared that Congress members shouldn’t be allowed to cash in on the stock market while serving the public—newsflash, Joe! Many folks have been echoing that sentiment long before it became trendy to do so.
It’s amusing how a president who previously maintained a strategic silence on this issue now finds his voice as a lame duck. During his earlier days, when the thought of addressing Congress’s trading habits might have required a spasm of courage, Biden left it up to Congress to decide what rules apply to themselves. Clearly, he wasn’t ready to ruffle feathers among his colleagues or step on their lucrative toes. Now, with his time waning and more scandals piling up, he’s ready to throw some shade on his peers, suggesting they shouldn’t profit off their insider knowledge.
Biden comes out in support of ban on congressional stock tradinghttps://t.co/PCmiUYbMs4 pic.twitter.com/ON1TUu28es
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) December 18, 2024
Even with Biden’s newfound endorsement of this ban, one has to wonder whether it would actually lead to any meaningful change in Congress. A bipartisan group of senators had already sought to implement this ban several months back, but it seems that not much has changed in the way of legislative action—or inactivity, for that matter. All the sponsors of the bills have apparently decided that actual voting on this issue might too closely resemble doing their jobs.
The current regulations state that lawmakers must disclose stock trades exceeding $1,000, but reports indicate that these rules are about as effective as a screen door on a submarine. Lawmakers often file late, if they file at all. This lack of accountability has naturally stoked populist outrage, especially given the eyebrow-raising scenario in which politicians bought up stocks right before the pandemic sent the world into a tailspin. Coincidence or collusion? You decide.
Biden’s past as “the poorest man in Congress” places him in the position of the moral arbiter, and although he didn’t own any stocks while serving as a senator, it’s worth noting that he still accumulated a tidy sum—mostly financed through taxpayer dollars. His complaints about how to face constituents while financially benefiting from being in government are amusing, given that he’s been part of the system for decades. Perhaps it’s time for a little reflection on how long, and how far, he has come since those “poor” days. But until Congress decides to get serious about policing itself, Biden’s remarks may just be hot air filling the sails of an already sinking ship.
