Arguing With an Article

Senator Dodd was completely unaware of these AIG bonuses until he learned of them in the past few days. To suggest that the bonuses affecting AIG had any effect on Senator Dodd's action is categorically false," she said. These were published a year ago!!! This must be the same Senator Dodd that passed the TARP, Bailout and Ombibus Bills without reading them. The same Senator Dodd that was one of the people primarily responsible for the legislation that caused the sub prime disaster, and even after it all was coming down, said there was no problem. I'll repost the C-Span video of him doing his Bart Simpson "I didn't do it!"

This would seem to exempt the AIG bonuses that lawmakers and President Obama are looking to recover. Incidentally, Dodd is the largest single recipient of 2008 campaign donations from AIG, with $103,100, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

The Dodd amendment creates a "prohibition on what the president is now talking about," said Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor, the House minority whip. He also accused the administration of being in "disarray."

But the so-called Dodd amendment wasn't the only missed opportunity to deal with executive bonuses. In addition, lawmakers dropped an amendment during negotiations on the stimulus last month that would have mandated companies paying bonuses over $100,000 face either a 35 percent excise tax on the money or return the cash. The amendment was drafted by Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.

Snowe's staff estimates this would have recovered about $58 million from AIG -- an aide could not say why the provision was dropped last month. (Szostak said Dodd supported that amendment.)

Now Senate and House lawmakers have returned to the idea of imposing heavy taxes to recover the bonus money.

Ten House Democrats introduced a bill Tuesday to tax all bonuses above $100,000 at 100 percent to recoup all the "outrageous" AIG bonuses.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid also vowed to recover a sizeable chunk of the money. How about recovering the sizeable chunk of money he's gotten from his position of power (non-leader in position of power grrrrrr).

"Remember, we, as a Congress, are not defenseless. We can also do things," the Nevada Democrat said Tuesday, announcing he has tasked Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., with crafting a proposal to recover the bonuses. No Baucus, you are not defenseless, you can be voted out!!!

He said the legislation would be proposed by Wednesday and subject the bonuses to a tax of more than 90 percent. He also said lawmakers would soon work with the administration to complete a Wall Street accountability bill. How about taxing the anti-American George Soros that spends billions undermining our democracy. If we're going to start targeting specific businesses and people, lets start with one of the most destructive people on the planet?

Baucus is seeking to find out exactly who received bonuses and, if some are not U.S. citizens, whether Congress can construct a law to tax the bonuses of the foreign nationals. This is not their business. These are private citizens working for a private company. If Baucus is concerned about foreign nationals, how about the ones that are in this country illegally.

"If (AIG CEO Edward) Liddy does nothing, we will act and will take this money back and return it to its rightful owners, the American taxpayers. We will take this money back by taxing virtually all of it," Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday. "So let the recipients of these large and unseemly bonuses, be warned. If you don't return it on your own, we will do it for you." Isn't this a bit scary, even for Liberals? 'We politicians have the power to take whatever we want, and if we don't have it now, we will write legislation to do so.' Trust this, if politicians can do this to one target, that sets the precedent for them to target anybody. If the shoe were on the other foot, and Republicans (remember that republicans aren't necessarily Conservatives) came to power, and started targeting Leftist groups or corporations with the power to confiscate anything they wanted...well then.

Dodd pushed the idea of taxing the bonuses Monday night. But on Tuesday, while he said lawmakers would continue to pursue this avenue, he added: "I don't know whether or not as a practical matter it will produce the kind of results we're looking for. We're all searching for a way to get this money back and one way or another we're going to figure out how to do it." Hey Dodd!!! Not only is it not practical, but it's illegal! We know you don't read legislation you pass, but how about reading the Constituition. Not that you'd understand it. grrrrrrrrrrr