[petsfed]

I think the real threat is the already dire state of American faith in its own governmental system. The issue is not that the congress people are in a position to act on insider information. It's that they're in a position to make moves, then enact policies that make those moves more lucrative.

Consider the extreme: a congress person shorts a stock because they know a downturn is coming, then they enact policies that prolong the downturn and in turn increase their windfall.