Congress is Nothing Short of Disgusting

There was a report on "60 Minutes" last night on CBS CBS that was more disturbing than any shady practices on Wall Street ever. Legal insider trading. Insider trading happens on Wall Street, and when it is caught, it is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Just ask Raj Rajaratnam, Martha Stewart, and Gordon Gekko how it feels to be caught insider trading and what happens to you. It is not fun. Unless you are running the most powerful country in the world. In the report, 60 Minutes showed that Representative Spencer Bachus (R-AL), John Boehner (R-OH) and Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) have all used their power and insider knowledge to bet against or for the markets, using knowledge that was not publicly available. Bachus was provided information from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson that the economy was in a dire situation. Bachus used what is known as "honest graft" to place several options trades that would benefit if the economy collapsed. Well guess what? The economy did collapse. Peter Schweizer, who is a former speechwriter for Sarah Palin, got the facts and published them in his book, "Throw Them All Out." "These meetings were so sensitive-- that they would actually confiscate cell phones and Blackberries going into those meetings. What we know is that those meetings were held one day and literally the next day Congressman Bachus would engage in buying stock options based on apocalyptic briefings he had the day before from the Fed chairman and treasury secretary. I mean, talk about a stock tip," Schweizer said. Bachus purchased calls in Proshares Ultra-Short QQQ QID as he met with Bernanke about the upcoming market crashes. He also placed negative bets against General Electric GE after he found out the company had problems selling bonds in the open market. If this was the only case of this happening, there would be an investigation against Bachus and the public shame would be enough to cause him to resign. Except, it does not stop with him. Nancy Pelosi used her position as then Speaker of the House to invest in Visa V before it went public while debating about regulating Visa and other credit card companies. This is appalling to say the very least. Say what you will about insider trading (some say it provides for more accurate price discovery, others think its amoral), but to have a select group of people who can do it while the masses can not is nothing short of appalling. Pelosi, Bachus and Boehner would not speak to 60 Minutes' Steve Kroft about the report. In this country, you are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, but that is only when the law applies to you. If the law does not apply to you, then you are innocent and you can do as you please. It is nothing but a putrid abuse of power. It doesn't just extend to the stock market either. Real estate works just as slimy as well. Illinois Congressman Dennis Hastert purchased some land near the Prairie Parkway prior to getting $207 million for the state of Illinois to build it. Five months after getting the federal funds, he sold the land and made $2 million, according to the report. It is up to the court of public opinion to try these Congressmen and get them to resign, change the law, or do something about this. If you really care about changing the country for the better, start by looking in the mirror.