The House wants to ban politicians from betting on elections (but left loopholes)
You’d think not betting on the very elections you are actively running in would be a basic rule of employment. But apparently, US representatives needed a formal bill to tell them to stop.
A key committee just advanced the "Stop Lawmakers from Predicting Act." The idea is simple: stop lawmakers, their spouses, and their kids from using prediction markets to bet on election results or government actions. Because, you know, knowing the outcome of a vote before it happens is generally considered a bit of an unfair advantage.
But as soon as the bill cleared the committee, people started looking at the fine print. Representative Joe Morelle pointed out that the bill is so full of loopholes it looks more like a sieve. While the Senate banned this stuff for their own members unanimously in a matter of minutes, the House version comes with a very generous six-month grace period.
Apparently, asking politicians to stop insider trading on their own careers is a delicate legislative challenge that requires half a year of transition time. It turns out that quitting the habit of wagering on your own bills is harder than it looks.
Leaving the cookie jar wide open for another six months is certainly one way to build public trust.
Source: Politico
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