by NO Author Name

Created on: March 26, 2009

Recently congress proposed taxing individuals from the so called "too big to fail companies" that have received tax monies from the tarp funds at a 90% percent level for their bonuses. While these individuals did nothing to merit these bonuses and should not be compensated for exceeding expectations, we do have a constitution stating that no ex post facto law should be passed. These individuals who have receive these bonuses have no real legitimate reason for receiving them but they do have constitutional rights no matter the public outrage. If we let congress pass these types of bills what's stopping them from future measures to win public support.

What is true, is that congress's pay increases whether we are in recession or a growth period, so for them to look down anyone's neck for their pay is hypocritical. The public is outraged by the bonuses and rightfully so, but for the legislative body to create a new law to tax bonuses already given out is unnecessary and intrusive in to private life. Whether democrat or republican the idea of making laws to correct your lack of oversight is pathetic. How about we make a law saying that the every congressmen/ women who let deregulations in the market occur over the last 30 years be taxed at a 90% level or any person who advocated lending to people who couldn't afford to repay the loan is jailed? I don't think that bill would get passed!

The AIG executives and their financial service's division have no sympathy from me; they are definitely idiots and deserve to be fired. But even those idiots pay taxes and are citizens and should have the law count for something. If nothing else is true in America, there has always been protection under the law. Americans are losing jobs, homes, and hope in the American dream and right now more than ever we need leaders to be above the mob and outrage and remind us that we need to be lawful in our hours of neediness. Recently many of the AIG bonus recipients returned the money; I think that should remind Americans of the good in our society. How many of us would return a million dollars?

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