Amid all the hand-wringing about whether or not the government has the power to stop AIG from paying bonuses to the very people who helped precipitate the current financial crisis, there is a way for the government to get the bonus money back: impose a surtax on the recipients to recover their ill-gotten gains. Think of it as a new kind of "sin" tax. Surely, in this time of severe economic emergency, the extraction of "performance bonuses" from a company being kept out of bankruptcy by massive infusions of taxpayer money because the stability of the world financial system depends on it, amounts to a form of institutionalized looting. The government bailout should not permit AIG executives to escape the sacrifices being made by other working men and women to save their jobs and businesses, especially as the employees of AIG, at least those of its financial unit, would seem to bear a greater degree of responsibility for this mess than, say, the auto workers being laid off or asked to modify their union contracts in return for government support. Of course, it would be preferable if the intended recipients were to forego their payments voluntarily out of some recently recovered sense of propriety or responsibility or patriotic duty, but we are told that these people respond only when properly incentivized. Perhaps the threat of a "recovery" tax will at last get their attention.
Are we really going to overturn these laws for $165 Million dollars? Basically the amount of money the Yankees are paying CC Sabathia for his left arm?
I agree with some of the other comments that the people who are at fault are our very own congressmen and women. We need to throw all of them out and get a batch of people who are responsbile to us and not to their party or any special interests.
No we can't tax the bonuses as CStanford pointed out. We need to punish every representative who voted for this ridiculous bailout WITHOUT EVEN READING IT. Those are the criminals, those are the bad guys. Now they are all running around asking "how did this happen?" Vote them all out.
We are getting this treatment because we've allowed it to happen. We let them know we weren't paying attention and they could basically do whatever they want if they word it right on TV.
Go to www.congress.org and write your reps everyday, just take five minutes every morning. See how they voted on the most recent bills (right there to see) and thank them or reprimand them... LET THEM KNOW YOU ARE WATCHING.
Sorry to shout. I'm all riled up. Taking a break now...
This is all fake outrage by folks who got a cost of living raise when it is their job to keep the cost of living down. I called my Rep & told her to vote NO on this outrage of trying to use taxes to retroactivly punish.