Everyone is in an uproar. Bailout vixen AIG paid millions in bonus money to employees even after accepting bailout money (and they have also sent some bailout money to companies overseas).
This is a good thing, right? I mean the rats did a terrible job running their company, why should they get bonus cash?
While I think it very stupid for a company to be paying bonuses on that magnitude to a staff when the company is teetering on the brink of failure, (and getting assistance from We The People), step back and look at two things, and then turn the looking glass at yourself dear reader.
First, the bonuses were apparently written into the contracts of these people. (Contracts, you folks of the UAW and other Unions know that word, right? What are you “guaranteed” in your contracts?) On top of that, Sen Chris Dodd D-CT inserted language INTO the bailout to protect bonuses that were in place prior to early February of this year. Furthermore Senator Dodd has said yes he put in the amendment, but at the insistence of the White House.
So let’s see, the two biggest recipients of AIG donations last year Obama and Dodd, put a little teeny tiny tweak into the bailout and hoped that no one would notice. After all what is $165 Million when you are throwing around $Trillions like it is lunch money?
Well people are noticing, more and more people are getting nervous and angry. So, thumping their chests, here comes the he-man-woman-haters club, the Congress, led by their HMBIC (Head Matronly Bloviator In Charge), Nancy Pelosi to tax all of that bonus money out of the pockets of said employees.
Democrats pressed for quick action Thursday on a bill to slap punishing taxes on big employee bonuses from firms bailed out by taxpayers. Republicans called it a legally questionable ploy to paper over Obama administration missteps.
"The American people demand protection and that's what we're doing today," said Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee.
Later in that news release:
"The Democratic bill brought to the floor today is constitutionally questionable," said Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind. "It's obviously a transparent attempt to divert attention away from the truth that Democrats in Congress and this administration made these bonus payments possible."
The bill would levy a 90 percent tax on bonuses paid to employees with family incomes above $250,000 at companies that have received at least $5 billion in government bailout money.
"We figured that the local and state governments would take care of the other 10 percent," said Rangel.
So they didn’t get the bill right the first time, so now the pendulum swings way over the other way. Any bonuses paid to families earning less than $250K. It’s a tax grab, it’s a CYA, it’s smoke and mirrors.
The last statement proves it’s a tax grab, and what happens if state and local taxes add up to >10%, will that family have to pay more back than they had received in their bonus? What if the bonus has already been spent, kids tuition, house, car, consumer goods, you know the stuff that unlike the toilet paper known as Congressional Bills actually will help the economy? Oh I guess they will have to get a loan.
This is major CYA, like I said in outset, this caveat was pushed by the White House and inserted by Senator Dodd, again head recipients of AIG contributions. So now that the public is up in arms it is hey look at us we didn’t see this coming (even though we put an amendment into the bill to allow it), look how mean we are being to the bastard rich people. This is also the same reason why it’s smoke and mirrors. They knew what they were doing before, but got caught. Look how screwed up this one little thing is, now look at the Spendulus pork fest, that NOT ONE PERSON read before passing.
So dear reader, what does it mean to you, you don’t work for AIG, you didn’t get a bonus, your company isn’t on the Federal Dole. Here is what it means;
First off, no matter what your individual employment contract says, the Government can come in after the fact and take any and in this case all of it away (maybe even more).
Second, no matter what laws they pass, if you think you are doing things above board and by the law, they can (and will) pass laws that will turn you from citizen to criminal with the stroke of a pen.
Notice that until now I haven’t mentioned the utter hypocrisy of Charlie (tax cheat) Rangel. Someone ought to tax his miserable self at 90%.
Notice how I didn’t mention the mortgage sweetheart deal from Countrywide that Chris Dodd got. Oh but he re-fied his two homes so that’s fixed. Not really. That’s like saying I ran a stop light two days ago, but I stopped at one today so it’s fixed. He re-financed his mortgages first to again do smoke and mirrors, to again do a little CYA (there’s an image I didn’t need, could be worse I could be talking about Barney Frank and Freddie/Fannie) but also interest rates are down, duh.
So, got a contract? Good for you, plan accordingly. Covered by the law (for now)? Good for you and thank you for trying to do things the right way, but plan accordingly.
All of this over $165 Million when there are trillions upon trillions being thrown around. But fear not, I’m sure this is the ONLY mistake that they’ve made, all that other stuff is golden.
