WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Responding to the anger about bonuses paid to AIG traders, the House approved a bill Thursday that would impose a punitive 90% tax on bonuses paid by American International Group Inc. (AIG)
Fox news just interviewed a judge who stated that our constitution protects American citizens from the congress writing laws to single out groups or individuals and punish them unfairly.
I totally don’t agree with the giving of bonuses to these clowns, but I don’t like the mob rule running amok in congress violating the very constitution they are there to uphold.
Which group will they target next? Maybe a special tax on gun owners? Fishermen? Football fans? There should be a moratorium on Congress passing any more of their idiotic bills. The right way to handle this bonus issue was to for the government to simply inform AIG as 80%+ shareholder to rescind the bonuses and to return any that had been paid out. A simple letter would have done the trick.
They are trying to cover up for their own screw-ups and trashing the constitution at the same time. This is damn outrageous.
I agree totally. I am just praying they don’t start taxing fat guys with beer guts and bad habits…I’d be broke
What is happening to our country is catastrophic. When I see people going about their daily business with NO CLUE as to what effect these actions will have on their lives I think “what is more dangerous…the crooks running the show or the sheep that are going to be in shock when they can no longer feed their families or find a safe place to live.”
It is pathetic that the US Congress is behaving in this childish manner.
While I do not believe that anyone involved in the dubious activities which have been exposed thus far deserves a bonus (heck, they don’t even deserve their base salaries), to have the US gov’t pull these kinds of shenanigans is embarrassing, to say the least.
The only real solution is to vote ALL incumbents, independent of party, out of office at each and every election. Sadly, the sheeple can be easily dazzled and bought off by gov’t and real reforms will not occur, at least not until everything has totally collapsed and we can start all over.
NOTE TO Market Guru (above): You can count on something like that happening when the gov’t control of the health care system occurs.
How about a 90% tax for the House and Senate as punishment for their inept decisions and failure to serve the American taxpayer. Dodd resign today. Expose the people you worked with so they can resign, too. Once OUR economy begins to recover I’m sure you’ll be able to re-package your snake oil and sell it to the financials in the form of lobbying expertise. Sec. Geithner, time to go Timmy! You shouldn’t have accepted the President’s nomination knowing you helped construct the Paulson bailout with so few oversights and so little transparency. You’re young and rich. Enjoy a great, long retirement KAZOO!