Musings of the Great Eric

Just corrupt sons of bitches?

In stock market, US senators beat averages

The study found that during the boom years of 1993-98, a majority of US Senators were trading stocks - and beating the market by 12 percentage points a year on average. By comparison, corporate insiders beat the market by 5 percent, and typical households underperformed by 1.4 percent.

Financial experts interviewed for this story say the senators’ collective achievement is a statistical stunner, too big to be a mere coincidence.

But in America’s premier lawmaking body, few members divest themselves of assets upon assuming public office or hold their investments in “blind trusts.” Unlike other federal employees, members of Congress are not required to recuse themselves when they have a financial interest in an issue they are legislating. And their required financial disclosure statements - which were used as the basis of the new study - are hardly as transparent as the public might expect.

Technorati Tags: Corruption, Senate, Stock Market