Is a chef banned from tasting his own soup just because some diners might get jealous? Look, I get the concern — nobody wants lawmakers insider-trading their way to a beach house while the rest of us eat ramen. But a blanket ban on trading individual stocks treats every public official like they're Bernie Madoff in a suit. Most of them aren't scheming; they're just people with 401(k)s trying to retire someday. Instead of banning the soup, let's fix the recipe — better disclosure, real enforcement, maybe a cooling-off period. Banning all stock trading is the legislative equivalent of burning down the kitchen because someone burned the toast.

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