The other side assumes banning stock trades is the only way to prevent conflicts of interest. That's a blunt instrument, and honestly, it treats the symptom rather than the cause. We already have ethics rules, recusal requirements, and disclosure laws. The real fix is enforcing those, not punishing every official who wants to invest their own savings. Think about it from a utilitarian angle. If we ban individual stock trading, we'll push talented people out of public service. Why would a qualified engineer or doctor take a massive pay cut to work in government if they also have to park their money in index funds for years? That's a real cost to the public. And from a virtue ethics view, we should be building a culture of integrity, not just restricting behavior with more rules. The problem isn't that officials own stocks. It's that they use inside information. That's already illegal. Let's enforce the laws we have instead of treating every public servant like a potential criminal.

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