Look, here's a reality check: according to a 2022 study from the University of Chicago, only about 3% of all congressional stock trades even potentially overlapped with committee work or legislation. That means 97% of these trades are just people managing their retirement accounts or savings, same as anyone else. Banning all stock trading for public officials over that tiny fraction is like banning all cars because a few people speed. I get the instinct behind this push – nobody likes the idea of lawmakers profiting off insider info. But a blanket ban treats every official like they're guilty until proven innocent. We already have laws against insider trading and conflict of interest; the STOCK Act from 2012 tightened reporting rules. The problem isn't the trading itself, it's enforcement. Fix that instead of punishing everyone for what a few bad apples might do. Plus, think about who'd want to run for office if they had to liquidate their entire portfolio – probably only the already wealthy or those with nothing to lose. That's not how you get good public servants.

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