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William Watson: Politicians are no better investors than the rest of us

Analysis of Congressmen's stock-trading shows they underperform the market. So why do we let them run winner-picking industrial policies?

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Why, a new research paper asks, would members of the U.S. Congress “dedicate much of their time and energy to raising millions of dollars for elections just to retain a job that pays $174,000 a year?” That’s $174,000 U.S. a year, of course, so the question isn’t quite such a puzzler for those of us making do with Canadian dollars. But still.

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One answer is that there’s more to the job than money. There’s also power, which apparently really is the ultimate aphrodisiac, as Henry Kissinger argued, and two resignations this week of........

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