House votes tax on bonuses paid by bailed-out firms BY TOM RAUM The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Denouncing a “squandering of the people’s money,” lawmakers voted decisively Thursday to impose a 90 percent tax on millions of dollars in employee bonuses paid by troubled insurance giant AIG and other bailed-out companies. The House vote was 328-93. Similar legislation has been introduced in the Senate and President Barack Obama quickly signaled general support for the concept. “I look forward to receiving a final product that will serve as a strong signal to the executives who run these firms that such compensation will not be tolerated,” the president said in a statement. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, told colleagues, “We want our money back now for the taxpayers. It isn’t that complicated.” The outcome may not have been complicated. But the lopsided vote failed to reflect the contentious political battle that preceded it. Republicans took Democrats to task for rushing to tax AIG bonuses worth an estimated $165 million after the majority party stripped from last month’s economic stimulus bill a provision that could have banned such payouts. “This political circus that’s going on here today with this bill is not getting to the bottom of the questions of who knew what and when did they know it,” said House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio. He voted “no,” but 85 fellow Republicans joined 243 Democrats in voting “yes.” It was opposed by six Democrats and 87 Republicans. The bill would impose a 90 percent tax on bonuses given to employees with family incomes above $250,000 at American International Group and other companies that have received at least $5 billion in government bailout money. It would apply to any such bonuses issued since Dec. 31. The House vote, after just 40 minutes of debate, showed how quickly Congress can act when the political will is there. It was only this past weekend that the bailed-out insurance giant paid bonuses totaling $165 million to employees, including traders in the Financial Products unit that nearly brought about AIG’s collapse. AIG has received $182.5 billion in federal bailout money and is now 80 percent government-owned. Disclosure of the bonuses touched off a national firestorm that both the Obama administration and Congress have scurried to contain. In a statement issued by the White House late Thursday, Obama said the House vote “rightly reflects the outrage that so many feel over the lavish bonuses that AIG provided its employees at the expense of the taxpayers who have kept this failed company afloat.” NO ENDORSEMENT In his statement, Obama did not explicitly endorse the House bill. Instead, he was careful to take a wait-and-see attitude on the details of the final legislation while making clear that he supports the effort to get the bonus money back for taxpayers. Topic No. 1 raised by Republicans during the House debate was the last-minute altering of a provision in Obama’s $787 billion stimulus law to cap executive compensation for firms receiving government bailouts. The measure might have forestalled payment of the AIG bonuses. A similar — but not as punitive — bill to recoup bonus payments with taxes was gaining support in the Senate. It would impose a 35 percent excise tax on the companies paying the bonuses and a 35 percent tax on the employees receiving them. The taxes would apply to all companies receiving government bailout money, but they are clearly geared toward AIG. The Senate measure is sponsored by Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and the panel’s senior Republican, Chuck Grassley of Iowa. It was expected to be brought to the Senate floor next week. Meanwhile, New York’s attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, said AIG has given him the list of employees who received a total of $165 million in retention bonuses. Cuomo said he won’t release any employees’ names until his office has answered any security concerns raised by the AIG employees. He also said he will work with .................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar00500
This is a perfect example of [a government that is big enough to give you everything is also big enough to take everything you have].
I agree....but it still is not good enough cause they will find the loop holes around the majority of it. The bonuses should be given back to the people...plain and simple.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
herd that the working families party is arranging for tours of the homes of aig big fish who got the bonuses. they said that the protests will be peaceful. also reports of death threats against the aig execs and there families. they should give the money back to the people and sell there big houses and everything will be ok
I agree they should give back the money right after everyone of our elected officials in Congress who was involved in the financial and wall street crisis gives back their salaries that we pay them and work for nothing until the crisis is over.
New York Democrats Indicted in Alleged $30 Million 'Pay-to-Play' Scheme A Democratic consultant and state official were indicted Thursday for allegedly receiving $30 million in kickbacks, as New York's attorney general accused them of using the state's pension fund investments as a "piggy bank." Democratic political consultant Hank Morris and a top lieutenant to disgraced former New York Comptroller Alan Hevesi were indicted Thursday in a scheme to trade lucrative investments in the state pension fund for more than $30 million in kickbacks, gifts and campaign contributions, the New York Post reported.
The 123-count indictment against Morris and former state pension-fund manager David Loglisci stems from a two-year pay-to-play probe by state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
"Morris used the fund as his own piggy bank," Cuomo said in announcing the bombshell indictment. "The indictment charges crimes that go beyond the grossest manifestations of pay-to-play."
The indictment charges that Morris used his access to the Comptroller's Office to direct more than $4 billion from the pension fund to private equity firms, venture-capital funds and businesses in exchange for bogus "placement fees" and other payoffs.
In exchange for signing off on the dirty deals, the indictment charges Loglisci received hundreds of thousands of dollars in payoffs, including some $290,000 to help his brother film and distribute a poorly received comedy, "Chooch," about two Italian-Americans.
everybody who voted in favor of the bailouts, constructed them, slipped things into them should loose their job, forfiet current earnings and return past earnings that were derived from taxpayer money, Dodd and geitner are just two fish that didnt do enought to prevent these problems.
dont forget that geitner was nys treasury sec, and loaned AIG the first billions to stay afloat...
My dictionary defines "bonus" as "something given or paid in addition to the usual or expected." It goes on to state that "bonus usually applies to money in excess of what is normally received or strictly due, given in consideration of superior achievement or as a share of profi ts. Am I missing something, or is it time for a new dictionary?
Bank of American puts on a superbowl party after receiving $45 Billion of taxpayer's money.
GM investes $1 Billion of it's TARP in Brazil.
Northern Trust of Chicago throws a big bash with entertainers like Sheryl Crow after receiving $1.5 Billion of taxpayer's money.
Where is all of the outrage from obama and gang about that? Better yet...what are we the taxpayers doing about it?
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Were you angry about the AIG bonuses? I was. Then I started to evaluate the entire situation. I concluded my anger was misdirected. The AIG bonuses represent less than 0.1 percent of the money we taxpayers have given to AIG. Why did we give AIG $178 billion in the first place? The powers that be forcefully explained that AIG couldn’t be allowed to fail. Yet by what measure has the $178 billion bailout been a “success?” Why aren’t we more concerned about the other 99.9 percent of the $178 billion? After calmly reflecting on these questions, I conclude my anger should be directed at those people who gave the $178 billion to AIG in the first place. A sleight-of-hand trick is being played on U.S. taxpayers by funneling their anger toward greedy AIG execs instead of the real culprits — the government enablers who made it all possible. They don’t want us to realize this bailout won’t work and that AIG will continue to hemorrhage taxpayer money. Bailouts are a “moral hazard” by encouraging AIG to continue to make high-stakes gambles, knowing the government stands ready to rescue them. If AIG executives were greedy enough to take these huge bonuses visible to all, they will be greedy enough to make more risky deals we can’t see. We have begun a massive transfer of wealth from taxpayers to the institutional investors and large banks that hold the bonds and derivative obligations tied to AIG. Thus AIG and other large financial institutions will require continuing cash subsidies totaling trillions of dollars if we do not allow them to be resolved in bankruptcy. If you want to do something constructive, tell your senators and representatives to cease and desist bailouts — especially more money to AIG. Let them know the crucial issue is the fallacy of the bailouts themselves, not the bonuses. If enough of us argue against this transfer of wealth from us, our children and our grandchildren, we can get their attention.
'bonuses' are a drop in the bucket and not much more than smoke and mirrors or a classic dog and pony show for the global economy..... pay attention to the 'tracks being laid'......we must ask ourselves what train we have boarded.......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
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