Surprising fact: a 2023 analysis found that members of Congress actually underperform the S&P 500 on their personal stock trades by nearly half a percentage point each year. So the whole panic about them raking in billions on insider info? The data just doesn't back it up. Now, I get the ethical instinct here. We want public servants focused on the public good, not their portfolio. But a blanket ban is a blunt instrument. It punishes everyone for the bad actions of a few — and the real problem, insider trading, is already illegal. We have the STOCK Act for disclosure, and we could enforce it way harder instead of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Also, banning stock ownership would push officials into boring index funds or cash, which has its own problems. They'd lose skin in the game of the economy they're supposed to steward. Better fix: stricter enforcement, real penalties, and mandatory blind trusts. That addresses the concern without overreaching.

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