Posted on 03/19/2009 12:05:53 PM PDT by DakotaRed
Breaking news alert from Fox News, the House has approved the 90% tax on bonuses given out by firms that accepted bailout funds.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
First, the tax is a dumb idea. They should not get the bonuses in the first place.
However, since the money for the bonuses comes from the government...the claims of “bill of attainder” will not hold up in court...since the bonus money “comes from the government”.
This AIG bonus stuff reminds me of the Stalin-Trotsky power struggle in the old USSR....only this time the Socialist-Communist struggle is between Democrats and Republicans....with Dems supporting some re-compensation for the AIG bonuses...while the GOP and pseudo-cons want to continue paying tax dollars to failed AIG execs.
I am not sure that there is a Democratic congressman who is capable of conceptual thought.
One of our Senators is very wealthy. His father was a ruthless businessman in the grocery business. His brother ran the family business before it was sold. This senator has bought every election in this progressive state. He owns the professional basketball team. His brother’s comment on his brother, the Senator, was that it” gives him something to do” and out of the family business.
How many Democratic congress critters are of the same ilk?
People, men and women, who have spouses or families of great wealth and they have a seat in Congress that gives them “something to do”....so that they don’t screw up the real family business.
Just FYI - these are not performance bonuses. They are more like severance pay. These jobs have already been eliminated and to give the employees a reason to stay long enough to wind down their particular book of business, they were promised these payments.
That’s why some of them have already left the company - their jobs no longer exist.
taking more money out of your wallet
You are right. It is clearly and unarguably unconstitutional. Period. It cannot fly. Our house thugs held this vote in order to posture for the American public. Of course, these clowns consider themselves above the restraints of the constitution. Many if not most probably believe they can get by with it. And the same number undoubtedly have no idea what is in the constitution, not that they care anyhow. This is frightening as hell. The Barney Fwanks of the world become Gods, deciding how much people should make and inventing ways to confiscate whatever they consider appropriate from anyone they happen to dislike!
This cannot possibly be legal. It’s heading perilously close to, if not into, bill of attainder territory and those are SPECIFICALLY forbidden by the Constitution.
}:-)4
"The measure passed, 328-93; most Democrats supported the measure while Republicans were sharply divided."
"A two-thirds majority among all members voting was required for passage."
That’s the truth. I have an acquaintance who works for a subsidiary of Citi. His division is very profitable, and he gets a bonus because of it. His household budget is figured on his bonus, so he works hard, and makes sure his division is profitable, ensuring he makes “x” amount of dollars at the end of the year. This will affect him and his family. Atlas may shrug over this “farce”...the bombastic outpouring from the Congress is unbelievable, just a show for the cameras.
That was quick. The House never works this fast. I think it must be to facilitate 15 April. Hopefully most of those bonus folks saved their money. Some might get away with paying them in the 2009 taxes next April which will help people find some more deducations to help offset this tax.
Or set up a committee to set up bailout packages for companies; a go-between to negotiate federal loans for comapnies with their hand out hoping for federal money. They would PUBLICLY negotiate a contract with each company.
I wonder if they get to claim this on their taxes next year.
They had it, then lost do to taxes, seems to be me would be mighty big tax deduction next year, since most if not all will be unemployed
That certainly worked out well for McCain-Feingold.
None of it matters.
Those who can read at grade level know that this entire uproar is a farce, and that the legislation itself is unconstitutional. It will be challenged in court a long time from now, when no one is interested any longer, and when other “crises” have arisen.
The illiterate masses (roughly 52% of the U.S. population, as of November 2008) will celebrate the fact that “something” was done, that Congress “fixed” the problem and struck a blow for justice by punishing those “greedy, fat-cat” Wall Street bankers. They will then turn to American Idol and waste no more energy on the matter.
In 2010, 90% of incumbents will be re-elected to office, partially on passage of “successful” legislation such as this.
All is well in the People’s Democracy.
This is not a "bill of attainder", not technically. It's tax law and not criminal law, so it's not a violation of that clause in the Constitution. It's evil. It's stealing. It's grandstanding for the looters on the far left socialist wing of the democrat party. It's not unconstitutional except as a violation of the 9th and 10th Amendments, which are routinely ignored.
Amendment IX: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment X: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
When did Marxist tyrants start concerning themselves with their actions being unconstitutional or illegal?
In any event, Congress can pass a law tomorrow confiscating all your wealth, or all wealth of all parties in any class they find ideologically displeasing. And it wouldn’t be unconstitutional.
Obama’s speech on the White House lawn yesterday re AIG was unabashadly Marxist. With the news media echoing his communist viewpoints, middle America is solidly on his side regarding AIG, going right along with their own doom.
Damages will be doubled. What losers
Hope you don’t mind, I just quoted that in my email to my rep (Paul Hodes)
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Nice job on the AIG bonus bill today. I thought you studied law:
A bill of attainder (also known as an act or writ of attainder) is an act of legislature declaring a person or group of persons guilty of some crime and punishing them without benefit of a trial. Bills of attainder are forbidden by Article I, section 9, clause 3 of the United States Constitution.
Maybe you should read the constitution instead of just betraying it blindly time after time.
Carl Cameron just admitted he was confused.
Still no response from the ACLU. Insert cricket noise here.
I see. Thanks.
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