Eric Cantor's Glaring Conflict of Interest

I make no bones about my view that Virginia Congressman Eric Cantor is a despicable weasel. Frankly, I think he'd sell his mother for the right price in order to gain political power - and the price would not be very high. Similarly, he apparently doesn't mind endangering the nation's economic well being in exchange for potential personal financial gain. Why do I say this? Because as Salon is reporting, Cantor is investing in a fund that skyrockets in value as U.S. Treasury bonds plummet in vale. And who is doing his utmost to cause a debt crisis that will make U.S. Treasury bonds plummet in value? Why, Eric Cantor, of course. Eric Cantor exemplifies what is wrong with today's GOP. He is, in my opinion, devoid of honor, integrity and honesty. Here are some highlights from Salon:
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When Eric Cantor shut down debt ceiling negotiations last week, it did more than just rekindle fears that the U.S. government might soon default on its debt obligations -- it also brought him closer to reaping a small financial windfall from his investment in a mutual fund whose performance is directly affected by debt ceiling brinkmanship.
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Last year the Wall Street Journal reported that Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House, had between $1,000 and $15,000 invested in ProShares Trust Ultrashort 20+ Year Treasury EFT. The fund aggressively "shorts" long-term U.S. Treasury bonds, meaning that it performs well when U.S. debt is undesirable. (A short is when the trader hopes to profit from the decline in the value of an asset.)
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According to his latest financial disclosure statement, which covers the year 2010 and has been publicly available since this spring, Cantor still has up to $15,000 in the same fund. . . . . Unless an agreement can be reached, the U.S. could begin defaulting on its debt payments on Aug. 2. If that happens and Cantor is still invested in the fund, the value of his holdings would skyrocket.
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[S]ince Cantor abruptly called off debt ceiling negotiations last Thursday, the fund is up 3.3 percent. Even if an agreement is ultimately reached before Aug. 2, the fund could continue to benefit between now and then from the uncertainty.
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[S]omeone negotiating the debt ceiling should be invested in this kind of an ultra-short. We can only guess how much he understands what’s in his portfolio, but you’d think a politician would know better. It looks pretty bad."
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One would think that someone in Cantor's position in Congress would want to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. But in today's GOP arrogance and a disregard to appropriate conduct seem to be the norm.