Congressman Shuster released the following statement today on the AIG bonus controversy:
“The AIG bonuses are outrageous and wrong. No one who helped run AIG into the ground should get a bonus, especially a taxpayer funded bonus. The American people deserve the truth and an apology from those at blame for this abject failure of leadership.
Weeding through the contradictory statements and excuses from the past few days, we now know that the blame over the bonuses lie at the feet of the Democrat controlled Congress and the Obama Administration.
We know that Democrat Senator Chris Dodd added an amendment to the stimulus that legally required AIG to pay the bonuses. We also know that Democrats blocked Republican attempts to strip Dodd’s bonus language from the stimulus. Finally, we know the stimulus plan along with the bonuses was rushed through Congress without anyone having the time to actually read the bill, including the President who signed it into law just a few days later.
The bonus controversy is a symptom of the Democrats’ disregard for good governance and fiscal responsibility. The American people are rightfully angry and fed up with the way their government is being run.
The time for gimmicks is over. Congress must re-open the stimulus and do what we should have done in the first place – read it. We must review this trillion dollar 1,100 page monstrosity line by line, keep what works and throw the rest into the trash heap where it belongs.”
I respect the congressman's courage in attempting to not make a bad situation worse. Congress has no business writing laws like this.
ReplyDelete(1) I trust that most people reading this understand that the very term "bonus" is a misnomer in this case. For most financial firms, retention bonuses are a negotiated part of the individual contracts - in no way are they "optional" as they are in most other sectors.
(2) As the majority stakeholder in AIG, the American people should have an extremely large club. If we don't like the way the company is being run, holding an 80% stake in the company we should be able to replace any member of the management team we like.
(3) This is all a diversion over what really amounts to trivial matters in the grand scheme of things. I urge Congressman Shuster to co-sponsor Representative Paul's bill to audit the Fed. Don't be swayed by the side show, go right to the heart of the matter.
What is it with Congress? While I don't agree with these people getting bonuses, I believe that this taxation is illegal. Isn't it a "bill of attainder" and an ex post facto law? Both outlawed bu the United States Constitution if I recall.
ReplyDeleteAs an American, I am outraged and disgusted by this kind of thugery. Congress itself forced the companies to pay the bonuses and now is going after these people. I heard some member of Congress speaking on the radio about "these executives who led their companies to ruin" and all I could think was "Hey, hasn't Congress done the same thing?"
All of these petty games are killing me. They're killing our nation! America is bleeding out and all our "leaders" can do is punish people and come up with more laws to restrict us, instead of leading us out of this mess. Leaders LEAD. Supervisors supervise. It's time to lead (or go home!)