Is Public Shaming “The Rich Man’s Club” Matt Gaetz’s next job?

Leave a CommentIs Public Shaming “The Rich Man’s Club” Matt Gaetz’s next job?Commentary

Congress makes some people very rich. The combined net worth of the 50 richest members of Congress was $4.8 Billion last year. It has to be more now.

Several reports and analyses have highlighted that members of Congress can legally engage in what would typically be considered insider trading in the private sector. They have access to sensitive information through their legislative roles, which can influence stock markets, corporate decisions, and policy changes. This knowledge allows them to make profitable stock trades that average investors might not be privy to. For instance, there have been mentions of Congress members like Nancy Pelosi making significant profits from stock trading, which some attribute to their access to legislative and policy developments before they become public knowledge. She has never earned more than $179K/year, yet she’s worth more than $120,000,000. To be worth this amount of money, she would have had to have worked in Congress for 3,367 years.

There have been attempts to address this through legislation like the STOCK Act (Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act) which was passed to prevent members of Congress from using nonpublic information for personal gain in stock trading. However, enforcement and loopholes still allow for such practices to continue to some extent.

Will Matt Gaetz lead the charge on shaming these people?