I have written about incentives in order to create momentum for yourself. Such as if you invest a large sum of money into something you believe in then you have skin in the game which propels your ambition to see it through. Well, when it comes to senators having invested interest in companies in which they have leverage over, this can be seen as a conflict of interest in that whoever would be the beneficiary not in just a status of doing a good job or being of good public service.
For the video, watch the first 3:30 and you’ll get the gist.
Let’s say people such as Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) own as much as a combined $750,000 in Boeing stock according to (prospect.org.) According to Forbes:
“The U.S. government is the single largest customer for Boeing and brought in almost 31% of the company’s revenue in 2018. Notably, Boeing accounts for 21% of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD’s) procurement budget.”) (Forbes Article)
So is it any wonder politicians can say we need to send money this way and that way in order to pack their own pockets. Voting at this point has become days at the casino for these people. It’s like betting on a horse race. Now that may seem harmless to some, but for the amount of people that have defense contractors in their pocket, or politicians in their pocket, not sure who is pitching or catching but it is definitely a party for the wealthy and those who profit in order to send American troops wherever makes the most money. You know men and women in the armed forces to go fight for something they don’t believe in. Or worse they may understand the conflict but don’t see how them going there would benefit America if they lived or died. They just say it is above my paygrade and are sent to do whatever so that people that sit in DC get richer. Your prerogative I guess. Prerogative is defined as: a right or privilege exclusive to a particular individual or class. If you are ok being a pawn for these people then that is what you enlisted for, I guess.
Hell, I did it a while back. Was always told I would go fight for people who would profit off my death. Never knew what that meant really. Well, this is what it means when according to (prospect.org):
“According to a Sludge review of financial disclosures, 51 members of Congress and their spouses own between $2.3 and $5.8 million worth of stocks in companies that are among the top 30 defense contractors in the world.”
According to Business Insider:
“For instance, members who hold stock in defense contractors also work on committees that have jurisdiction over military policy. Others who craft anti-tobacco policies have invested in tobacco giants. In the weeks immediately before and after the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the nation in March 2020, dozens of lawmakers bought or sold stock in companies that manufacture COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, tests, and personal protective equipment.”
I mean come on, it is almost like all the things back in the 80’s and 90’s that would be called conspiracies were actually happening, we just didn’t have this beautiful site called Bangov to show what was happening right under our noses. We did have all the articles that I reference so maybe we have just gotten a little bit lazy. Also you can’t fit all of this shit on to a newspaper. The only thing I use newspapers for nowadays is drying my mirrors, and I learned that in the military, OHHHH THE IRONY!!!
Business Insider tells us…again:
“Each year, every member of Congress is required to file a detailed report disclosing their financial holdings. Designed for transparency, the disclosures provide insight into each member of Congress’ wealth and assets — and occasionally reveal potential conflicts of interest and violations of federal law.”
Oh and: (same article)
“The wealthiest 15 members together had an estimated net worth of at least $1.3 billion, accounting for half of Congress’ total estimated wealth.”
The person I will say is most intriguing to me is Nancy Pelosi. Again, from Business Insider, Pelosi is worth $46 million. A Newsweek article claims as high as $171 million as of 2021, I am sure due to the pandemic, haha, when economies crash these people get rich. According to The Hill:
“According to financial disclosure forms, Sens. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.), James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) each sold hundreds of thousands of dollars in stocks within days of the Senate holding a classified briefing on Jan. 24 with Trump administration officials on the threat of the coronavirus outbreak.”
Not saying it was Pelosi in this instance, but I would strongly encourage when seeing politicians vote for things, or argue on their behalf, pay close attention to what stocks they are invested in. ALWAYS FOLLOW THE MONEY.
Full circle back to Pelosi and her naughty ways of money making we come to find out she only is invented in stocks. She doens’t really have any business savvy skills. She’s a politician, but they all are. She is kind of boring in the sense that she does not have any skills outside of politics. Unlike Rep. David Trone, a Democrat from Maryland: $32,927,094. Who dabbles in ownership of shops across the country of wine, beer, and spirits: Total Wine & More. Or Rep. Peter Meijer, a Republican from Michigan: $60,514,285. Apparently he has a name in the grocery business, but at least that is providing a service and product to people. Of course if you are Rep. Suzan DelBene, a Democrat from Washington: $52,156,097, you may criticize because she was flagged as: (Business Insider)
“In late 2021, DelBene appeared to violate the STOCK Act by improperly disclosing her husband’s massive sale of Microsoft stock days before President Joe Biden nominated him for an administration post. DelBene’s office denied that the congresswoman violated the law, citing an email from the Committee on House Ethics.”
Look, who cares anyway, politicians control the laws they don’t have to follow. They wouldn’t be politicians if they did. All you law abiding politicians trying to fight for a greater good “get outta here!!” Bangov Actual, out!!
Even AOC was able to put words together in a sentence and agree this is a “conflict of interest.” Now just give it a few years and she will contradict herself because she will be invested in stocks as well.