by M.L. Bushman

Created on: March 23, 2009

The AIG "debate" is a politician's dream come true. A smoke-screen issue of such proportion and opacity-and value-that nearly anything might be floated behind it, and missed. These bonuses constitute barely a minute fraction of the total spending going on in Washington DC these days. The educated citizen is not giving in to the knee-jerk emotional reaction and screaming "off with their heads!" The savvy political observer is seeking what the smoke hides and who benefits the most.

For example, while members on committees were thundering in righteous indignation against the AIG bonuses, grandstanding as it were, for the media and their own egos, how many people noted the extra $5 billion quietly shoveled to the auto industry? Or Federal Reserve chairman Bernanke's plans to simply print $1 trillion more dollars, as if this won't result in a greatly devalued dollar, decreasing the spending power of Americans and their families while at the same time fanning inflation.

While the US House of Representatives (and I use that label loosely) was considering and passing what amounts to an unconstitutional use of the tax code to penalize a select group of individuals, did anyone pay attention to the GIVE act the Senate passed that allocates $6 billion for "volunteer-ism," which, if you strip the political-speak away, amounts to an out and out reward to groups like ACORN for getting out the Democratic vote?

Our so-called senators and representatives have no right to rail about the injustice of the AIG bonuses when the right of any company receiving "bailout" monies to give bonuses like these was included in the language of that recent "stimulus" bill NONE of our vaunted defenders of the public trust bothered to read before passage.

The AIG smoke-screen also serves as a valuable political distraction from questions surrounding the $410 billion porkalicious spending package passed and signed into law a few weeks ago. Questions such as why the taxes of all Americans are being allocated to the celebration of the city of St. Augustine, Florida. There's a lot of miles between me in Montana and Florida. How is this city's $3.5 million celebration going to benefit all American taxpayers as a whole? Where is the individual return to each of us on our tax dollars? What boggles the mind to consider-this is but one tiny example of the approximately 9000 earmarks included in this one spending bill alone.

Any small flame of an issue being fanned by politicians and their contacts in the media into what appears to be a raging conflagration should be viewed with healthy suspicion. Sometimes the smoke may indicate a real fire. More often than not, especially nowadays, that smoke-screen hides the edge of yet another cliff toward which those with the most to hide, and the most to personally and politically gain, are propelling us en masse in the hope a majority of voters will simply march off. No doubt most, if not all, who take the bait labeled "AIG Bonuses" will be screaming "off with their heads!" all the way to the bottom of America's ultimate and untimely demise.

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