The practical reason to ban insider trading is to preserve market health. Beyond moral fairness, if participants believe a market is rigged, those without an informational edge will stop trading. This exodus destroys liquidity and ultimately causes the market to fail, making fairness a requirement for survival.

Senator Warren notes that resistance to banning congressional stock trading isn't confined to one political party. She observes that politicians from both sides of the aisle have been resistant to passing new laws, making it a bipartisan problem that requires voter pressure to solve.

In a political simulation, policies like term limits, banning insider trading, and tying re-election to a balanced budget received near-universal approval from all demographics. This suggests accountability is a powerful, unifying issue that transcends partisan divides.

To combat corruption, the US should consider Singapore's model: pay elected officials significantly higher salaries (e.g., $1-2 million) but enforce absolute zero tolerance for insider trading or lobbying conflicts. This approach professionalizes public service and removes the financial incentive for illicit activities.

Senator Warren argues the problem with congressional stock trading isn't just access to non-public information. It's that members can actively shape legislation (e.g., a crypto bill) to benefit their own investments, creating a powerful conflict of interest.

Proposals like term limits, congressional insider trading bans, and budget accountability for lawmakers receive overwhelming public approval, cutting across typical political divides. This suggests accountability is a powerful, unifying theme for voters.

Accepting that politicians act in their own self-interest is key. The goal of governance should be to structure systems where the only way for them to become personally wealthy is to create broad-based economic prosperity for the entire nation, thus harnessing selfishness for the public good.

When politicians from both parties achieve investment returns massively outpacing the S&P 500, it signals a systemic, bipartisan problem of self-enrichment, not a partisan issue. This behavior, effectively insider trading, erodes public trust and is a primary reason why Congressional approval ratings are abysmal.

An ETF designed to track suspicious trades by members of Congress and capitalize on presidential influence passed SEC review. However, every stock exchange ultimately refused to list it, with their legal departments killing the product. This reveals a self-censorship within financial institutions around politically sensitive topics like corruption.