W. House officials: Taxing AIG bonuses may be 'dangerous way to go'

[CLG_News]

http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_news


W. House officials: Taxing AIG bonuses may be 'dangerous way to go' --Economic advisers: President Obama won't 'govern out of anger' 22 Mar 2009 White House economic advisers said Sunday that President Obama won't "govern out of anger" despite calls for the heads of AIG executives who received bonuses, and acknowledged that using tax law to get back $165 $218 million in government-funded bonuses may be "a dangerous way to go." Those officials suggested the House-backed plan to tax American International Group Inc. executives' bonuses at a 90-percent rate may have to be modified in the Senate.

<snip>

Obama can't possibly comprehend *our* anger. People donated $750 million to candidate Obama, as we were promised - over and over - *change.* With the exception of a paucity of improvements on the domestic social policy front, Obama is recreating the Bush Administration -- hook, line and sinker. Americans would never have tolerated giving away a trillion dollars to corpora-terrorists under Republican John McCain, so Obama was 'allowed' to win to serve as the relief valve for the social upheaval that was steadily building.

[dkf]

1. Some of Obama's advisors have a very tin ear.

I'm sure there were other ways to say this that aren't so upsetting.

[BlooInBloo]

2. (shrug) Since it is known that constitutionality is not an issue...

The next step is to see if a veto-proof majority can be gotten for this.

[AZ Criminal JD]

6. Constitutionality is the issue

What planet are you on?

[BlooInBloo]

8. Reality.

[Hello_Kitty]

9. Laurence Tribe says no

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2009/03/18/would-an-aig-bonus-tax-pass-constitutional-muster-a-tribe-calls-yes/

[AZ Criminal JD]

12. I know what Tribe says

I also know what other Constitutional scholars such as Jonathan Turley say. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-oped0322chapmanmar22,0,2981627.column

Would Tribe say a special tax on university professors whose schools receive money from the federal government was constitutional? He would find no end of problems with it.

[Hello_Kitty]

15. Are the university professors being bailed out because they fucked up the economy?

Had they contracted themselves ginormous bonuses after doing so? At any rate if Congress did decide to tax university professors in the manner you described, and it passed and the President signed it, it would be law. I'm a smoker and Congress just passed a hefty tax increase on a pack of cigarettes to pay for SCHIP. Shit, I didn't even get any federal bailout money!

[babylonsister]

3. Not only WH officials. Lots of people think this. It's not a great idea imo. nt

[ruggerson]

5. Don't look now

but I see pitchforks and torches headed your way.

[EFerrari]

4. This is going to get really ugly. n/t

[The_Casual_Observer]

7. Jay Leno expressed his concern & it was noted.

[lonestarnot]

10. Personally I like the brilliant idea of suing them. Unjust enrichment.

We have standing with 80% ownership. Courts could lock up the money until we take it back.

[AZ Criminal JD]

13. Ahhh courts don't "lock up" money in these type of cases.

But go down to your local courthouse and try that theory out.

[lonestarnot]

14. I didn't mean put it in a box with a padlock. LOL

I meant freeze the funds whereever they are.

[AZ Criminal JD]

18. I know what you meant

But they won't freeze any bonuses.

[lonestarnot]

19. Well no, but they are now personal property, they've already been doled out 1/2 of which

to foreigners. Money allegedly already out of U.S.

[rufus dog]

11. I agree, it is a bad way to go

Reacting in Congress with a hasty bill is a bad approach. Limiting Executive pay is O.K. but tie it to the average wages of all workers in the company, along with (this is a big one) hourly rate of outsourced labor. (that might give the assholes to keep jobs at home.

[HughMoran]

16. I'm glad he's hopefully not going to sign a "special tax" bill if it's sent to him

This is not the way to do things IMO. There has to be a more sophisticated way of getting compensated for the bonuses that doesn't seem punitive towards those would would be on the receiving end of these bonuses. In spite of how galling it is what AIG did, it's a piddly amount of money in the end and can easily be recouped another way.

[pam4water]

17. Great government regulatory agency capture goes to the White House.

:thumbsdown: