The top 100 members of Congress earn a 48% annual return on their investments. You earn 6%. That's not a coincidence — it's information they're not supposed to have, used in ways the law lets them get away with.
The top 100 members of Congress earn a 48% annual return on their investments. You earn 6%. That's not a coincidence — it's information they're not supposed to have, used in ways the law lets them get away with.
When the top 100 members of Congress earn a 48% annual return while Americans earn 6%, it's clear that too many are making a fortune as insiders. Not all are involved in insider trading, but the pattern casts suspicion on the entire institution. Lobbyists often bribe, with speech fees surpassing annual salaries. Each year, investigations reveal systemic issues.
Congress should file annual household net worth disclosures, with gains beyond market performance triggering audits. Evidence of insider trading or misuse of federal funds warrants immediate removal. Such measures could restore trust, as Congress's approval rating is below 30%, showing a need for change.
Instead of endless, often fruitless investigations driven by party politics, we need transparency, accountability, and integrity at the heart of our legislative process to rebuild faith in our government.
The rules we live by should be the rules Congress lives by. Today, members trade individual stocks while sitting on committees that move the markets they invest in. Every other federal employee with that kind of access is barred from doing it. Congress should be held to the same standard: a blind trust or broad-market index funds for the duration of service, full quarterly disclosure of every household trade, and automatic referral to the Department of Justice when returns spike outside normal market performance.
Penalties have to bite. Insider trading by a member should mean expulsion, full disgorgement of profits, and a lifetime ban from federal office. None of this requires a constitutional amendment. It requires a Senate willing to vote against its own perks, which is exactly why Don is running as an independent with no donors to protect.
By Don Louis · Published 2026-04-07