The incredible ignorance displayed by this and many similar social media posts and the thousands of approvals and favorable comments is frightening.
A meager effort to research the facts and a modicum of critical thinking would reveal the truth, but that effort is rarely applied.
I recall daily Ben Franklin’s words .
“A Republic madam, if you can keep.”
A member of Congress must maintain a residence in their home state, they must live in Washington DC. They may have a family to relocate. They give up a job and can lose their congressional job in a few years. They take a risk.
They work every day, in session or not, they work on committees beyond general sessions, they work in their home districts.
Congress has not had a raise or COLA adjustment in seventeen years (2009)
They are certainly not overpaid.
Like all other federal workers they must contribute toward a pension, social security and Obamacare health insurance.
They must select a gold level health insurance plan offered on a designated exchange, all with significant deductibles.
The government contributes the lesser of:
1. 72% of the program-wide weighted average premium, or
2. 75% of the premium for the specific plan selected
similar to contributions for all federal workers. They pay much more than $300 in premium with deductibles mostly well over $1,000
Members since 2014 contribute 4.4% of pay to a pension plus social security taxes. A member of the House must be re-elected twice to become vested in any pension.
After twenty years of service their pension would be $34,800 per year if retired before age 62 and $38,280 if retire at 62 or later. Less than 25% of pay – contrary to the pay for life myth.
And remember, they must be re-elected by the “informed public” several times to even reach the 20-year point.
As far as forced to retire at age 70, voters can make that happen.
Check their stock portfolios…..
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So what? Not all are rich, and for those that are, most of their wealth was before being elected or from a spouse.
Why should they not be allowed to invest and accumulate wealth for their future and families like everyone else?
Insider stock trading? Wrong and illegal, but even if that occurs it doesn’t come from taxpayers pockets.
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So what.!!!!!! Please, they have advantages that we do not…are they supposed to be protecting and supporting us, not taking advantage of their influence & information….
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It isn’t insider trading, which is illegal, from insiders within the publicly traded corporation who trade on information that is not in the public domain.
Lawmakers often have access to nonpublic information that can move financial markets, as well as the power to shape policies in sectors in which they have financial interests. This creates potential for members to personally profit off their offices when they trade individual stocks.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle made beneficial stock trades during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic and ahead of economic recessions after receiving briefings and early nonpublic information about the dramatic changes in the economy. In September 2008, after a private meeting with the treasury secretary and the chair of the Federal Reserve, a congressman bought stocks betting that the markets would fall, and he profited when they did.
In January 2020, after a closed-door meeting about the possible effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy, one member of Congress made significant stock trades shortly before financial markets took a turn for the worse when the broader public became aware of the scale of the pandemic.
Folks have sold hospital stocks after voting for legislation to cut Medicare spending on hospitals.
Best example of abuse: Pelosi’s return since May 2014 – 1,000+%, versus a market return over same period of 311%.
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Big leap to label it abuse isn’t it?
Primary Drivers of Returns
Leveraged Tech Call Options: The portfolio’s outperformance heavily stems from long-dated, deep in-the-money call options (LEAPs) on mega-cap tech stocks. Leveraged exposure allowed for amplified upside during major tech expansions without requiring full upfront stock purchases.
24/7 Wall St.
Heavy Tech Concentration: The portfolio concentrated heavily in mega-cap technology and semiconductor leaders, including Nvidia (NVDA), Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOGL), Broadcom (AVGO), and Amazon (AMZN).
24/7 Wall St.
Patience & Long Hold Times: Despite frequent public interest surrounding trade disclosures, the average holding period for individual equity positions averaged over 700 days (~2 years).
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Nope, don’t think so. District 11 is within shoutin’ distance of Mountainview and Palo Alto, etc.
Not at all surprised that the Pelosi family investments had outsized gains in tech.
NVIDIA is a good example. Nvidia (NVIDIA Corp) stock has gained over 900% over the last five years, rising from roughly $22 in September 2021 to over $230 by September 2026.
For example, in November 2023, Pelosi invested in Nvidia call options. Nvidia stock promptly surged 156% – translating into a gain exceeding $4 million. They have a remarkable degree of success in call options, given that these are time bound investments, and if the stock price moves lower, options can expire worthless.
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rq…can you be more of an apologist for the scumbag dems. pelosi is just one example while you make a claim to where they live…please..as far as our tax dollars…you seem not to even care nor concerned about thr fraud in Minnesota and elsewhere…gotta love those “learing” centers
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