Honestly, banning officials from owning individual stocks seems like it might just push them into funds or trusts, and I'm not sure that fixes much. Like, if someone wants to game things, they probably find a workaround anyway. I get why people want a ban, but it feels a bit off to me.

Fair point, corruption is real and I get the worry. But a ban might just push officials into index funds or blind trusts, so the trading still happens somewhere out of sight. My gut says transparency beats a ban, even if I can't really argue it well.

Yeah, you're right that corruption worries people, and I don't have a good comeback for that. I just feel like a ban sounds cleaner than it is, and maybe just watching what they trade would do more. But I'm not sure.