Throw Them All Out: How Politicians and Their Friends Get Rich Off Insider Stock Tips, Land Deals, and Cronyism That Would Send the Rest of us to Prison [9780547970165]

Overview

THE BOOK WASHINGTON DOES NOT WANT YOU TO READ

How is it that politicians often enter office with relatively modest assets, but then, as investors, regularly beat the stock market and sometimes beat the most rapacious hedge funds? How did some members of Congress know to dump their stock holdings just in time to escape the effects of the 2008 financial meltdown? And how is it that billionaires and hedge fund managers often make well-timed investment decisions that anticipate events in Washington?

In this powerfully argued book, Peter Schweizer blows the lid off Washington’s epidemic of “honest graft.” He exposes a secret world where members of Congress insert earmarks into bills to improve their own real-estate holdings, and campaign contributors receive billions in federal grants. Nobody goes to jail. Throw Them All Out casts light into the darkest corners of the political system — and offers ways to clean house.

"Throw Them All Out is filled with stories of petty theft and so-called 'honest graft' . . . Unsparingly bipartisan in [its] criticism of Washington . . . Mr. Schweizer has performed a valuable service to his country." — Washington Times

Schweizer’s investigation uncovers the playbook used by Washington’s political class:

• Political Corruption: See how members of both parties get rich off a system of legal graft that would send the rest of us to prison.
• Insider Stock Tips: Follow the trades of powerful politicians who dumped stocks right before the 2008 financial crash or bought into IPOs unavailable to the public.
• Taxpayer-Funded Land Deals: Discover how a Speaker of the House can use a multimillion-dollar federal earmark to dramatically increase the value of his own farmland.
• Conflict of Interest: Uncover the double standard that allows lawmakers to write and vote on legislation that directly benefits their own stock portfolios and real estate investments.