Breaking: “Mob Rule” House Passes Un-Constitutional Tax Bill
Is it time to hit that “re-set” button on the US Constitution yet???
They do THIS to them … and we allow them to do anything to the rest of us in the future … perhaps not so far off future.
House approves 90 percent AIG tax
In a vote that divided Republicans in half, the House narrowly approved a 90 percent tax on bonuses for AIG and other financial firms that received bailout funds last fall, despite a fevered protest from conservatives who tried to fight the tax increase.
Republicans tried to bring the measure down, but their own leadership was divided on the measure. The roll call was 328-93, easily surpassing the two-thirds support needed to expedite passage of the legislation.
Almost all Democrats voted for the measure, but the GOP conference was literally split in half, with conservatives – led by Minority Leader John Boehner – voting against the bill. But dozens of other Republicans, including Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Reps. Adam Putnam (R-Fla.) and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), waited until the last minute to vote yes, making a difficult vote in favor of a tax increase.
The measure would impose a 90 percent tax on any bonuses paid to top executives at these firms after revelations that AIG paid its executives $165 million in bonuses this year.
The Senate is operating on a parallel track this week crafting a heavy surtax on virtually all bonuses for employees at companies that received federal bailout funds.
The legislation would affect any financial firm receiving more than $5 billion in federal funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Fund. It would only pertain to employees whose total family income exceeds $250,000 per year, and would cover all bonuses received after Jan. 1, 2009.
Conservative Republicans in the House voted against the legislation because they viewed it as a knee-jerk, potentially unconstitutional response to the AIG furor. They also sought to inflame on ongoing debate between the White House and congressional Democrats over who stripped language from a massive stimulus earlier this year that would prohibit these bonuses from being paid.
Democrats dismissed the GOP criticism, saying voters don’t care about who put what in the stimulus conference report, and would rather just get taxpayer money back.
“No one back home is asking about the conference report,” said Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.). “They are asking are these people going to take these bonuses the taxpayers paid for.”
Boehner tried to rally against the bill, but half of his conference had already decided they’d rather take a hit from fiscal conservatives who will criticize a tax increase, rather than face voter wrath over AIG bonuses.
“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,” Boehner said.
Rep. Steven C. Latourette, an Ohio Republican on the Financial Services Committee, introduced a resolution of inquiry that would force Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to provide all documents, records and communications regarding American International Group (AIG) within 14 days of the bill’s adoption. Under the special rules of the resolution, the House Financial Services Committee has 14 days to act on it. If they don’t, it automatically goes to the House floor for a vote.
“Nobody’s taken ownership,” LaTourette complained. “They’ve promised transparency around here. They didn’t give us time to read the thousand page bill, this is in the bill, they’re all pretending like they’re shocked.”
Latourette called the AIG tax bill “ridiculous,” arguing before the vote that Democrats were “daring” Republicans to vote against it, “but it’s crap.”
The House bill would have far more sweeping effect than just taxing away AIG’s controversial bonuses. Since Wall Street pays much of employee salaries in the form of deferred bonuses, the legislation would hit any employee at bailout recipient firms that makes more than $250,000, financial services lobbyists say.
And the $5 billion bar set by the legislation guarantees that all of the biggest recipients of TARP money – some like JP Morgan who say they did so only at the government’s behest – would be subject to the surtax.
That could have dire consequences for the overall stability of the financial system, lobbyists warn, as banks rush to give back their TARP money, funds that were supposed to help spur lending and stabilize the system.
The threshold does mean that smaller community banks would not be hit by the bill.
WASHINGTON - Acting with lightning speed, the Democratic-led House has approved a bill to slap punishing taxes on big employee bonuses from firms bailed out by taxpayers.
The vote was 328-93.
Said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: “We want our money back and we want our money back now for the taxpayers.”
Republicans called it a legally questionable ploy to paper over Obama administration missteps.
Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said the bill was “a political circus” diverting attention from why the administration hadn’t done more to block the bonuses before they were paid.
The bonuses, totaling $165 million, were paid to employees of troubled insurer American International Group, including to traders in the unit that nearly brought about the company’s collapse.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.
WASHINGTON (AP)—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.
But Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, called the bill “a political circus” diverting attention from why the administration hadn’t done more to block the bonuses before they were paid.
The bonuses, totaling $165 million, were paid to employees of troubled insurer American International Group over the weekend, including to traders in the unit that nearly brought about the company’s collapse.
Democratic leaders rushed the bill to the floor under a procedure that requires a two-thirds majority for passage. The numerous Republican complaints about the measure during Thursday’s debate raised questions on whether it would pass.
“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.
Rangel said the bill would apply to mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, among others, while excluding community banks and other smaller companies that have received less bailout money.
A tax expert said there is plenty of precedent for levying punitive taxes on behavior that lawmakers find objectionable. Robert Willens, a corporate tax lawyer in New York, cited the steep excise taxes levied on money paid to firms to keep them from launching hostile takeover bids, known as “greenmail.”
“You can write very narrowly tailored laws,” Willens said. “And they can do it for bonuses already paid.”
House Democratic leaders unveiled the bill Wednesday as the head of embattled American International Group Inc., which has received $182 billion in bailout money, testified about $165 million in bonuses paid out in the past week to about 400 employees in its Financial Products unit.
Edward Liddy, who was brought in last year by the government to run AIG, told a House subcommittee that the company was contractually obligated to pay the bonuses but that some of the recipients have begun returning all or part of them.
Liddy said that on Tuesday, he had “asked those who have received retention payments in excess of $100,000 or more to return at least half of those payments.” Some have “already stepped forward and returned 100 percent,” he added.
In the Senate, the top two members of the Finance Committee on Tuesday announced a bill that would impose a 35 percent excise tax on the companies paying the bonuses and a 35 percent excise tax on the employees receiving them. The taxes would apply to all companies receiving government bailout money, but they are clearly geared toward AIG.
President Barack Obama, who took office just under two months ago, told reporters Wednesday that his administration was not responsible for a lack of federal supervision of AIG that preceded the company’s demise.
But Obama added, “The buck stops with me.”
(AP)
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We hold the buildings of Washington DC in too high of esteem. It is the ideals of this nation, not the physical presence of the buildings which are important.
Who will be the next group to be targeted with “punishing Taxes?”
EVERYONE
Our kids are already on the chopping block, and our grand kids and our great grand kids……etc. etc. etc.
The dumbasses actually believe this makes them look good.
Tyranny of the majority — Here is what John Adams had to say about it — “Mankind will in time discover that unbridled majorities are as tyrannical and cruel as unlimited despots.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: “We want our money back and we want our money back now for the taxpayers.”
Really? How much money are we going to get back? A dollar? Maybe two? And which taxpayers get this money? And if any of us get it back it’ll get taxed too.
This is such BS it’s ridiculous…
Now they can raise taxes on all of us and have that to point to and say “63% is nothing, we could do more.”
What the hell are they thinking. The kool-aid drinkers will think this is social justice, but anyone with 1/2 a thought will see this as blind, mad abuse of power by the government.
UNFORTUNATELY, my idiot REPUBLICAN representative voted yes - Joe Barton. Just called him a gave his staff an earful . . . who is next . . . I bet they will tax white people 90% . . . anything is possible with these idiots.
Mine too
I was surprised.
Eric Cantor of VA
I thought he was a conservative, just goes to show you they are all screwed up!! At the last minute he voted yes??? Why his vote was not needed, he could and should have stood onhis principals. Oh he will here from me!
FUCK THEM ALL!!!
exactly FUCK THEM ALL! Your gonna get fucked, you like it by a donkey or an elephant? That is your choice. I hold absolutely no allegiance to the republican party, only because they are the enemy of my enemy will I tolerate some of them.
wasn’t the fed income tax a “temporary” tax?
yeah…right
This does not bode well for any of us my friends.LORD help us
Unbelievable. The only good news is that they are attacking the people that put them into office. But then, Hitler did the same.
Don’t see how this could pass SCOTUS. For congress to target a specific group of people seems not to pass the smell test. One of these folks who recv’d the $$, thank you Mr Dodd, will more than likely fight it, get a nice high priced atty, will fight it tooth and nail, and when the dust settles we will be paying the bill.
Congress is just covering their own assess………
they are putting up the big smoke screen to blame the evil businessmen…..
I hope they tax Dodd 90% of his income as well….this is complete bullshit
I want our congressman to reimburse me for all of the worthless “junkets” they take.
I want Nancy to reimburse my tax dollars for all the planes she uses to fly around the country.
And for that matter, I want my tax dollars back for all of the costs incurred so the president could go on a talk/comedy show.
I don’t think congress is doing a good job so I want them to tax their fucking pay increase they just voted themselves 90%.
And I don’t think they deserve those wonderful heathcare benefits. So let’s take those away, too.
THIS-SHIT-HAS-GOT-TO-STOP!
What a bunch of pandering self serving evil XX@@#$%$##
Thank you for letting me vent!
BURN IT
I just got off the phone with Stephanie Herseth Sandlin DC Office… The guy was trying to tell me it was IN THE TAX CODE!!!
I asked him if they knew WHAT THE FUCK THEY WERE DOING???
I explained to him it was against the CONSTITUTION… He said he did not know where in it it was “Illegal”, so I mentioned TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION… I asked him Why did DODD LIE? Now Punish these people?
Bring the Rope… FUCK THIS
More and more I become convinced that the public sector has declared open war on the private sector. The conflict is as old as civilization and in but very few times and places, like America from colonization until perhaps now, has the private sector held substantial power over the public sector and individuals any real liberty from the public whim. The public sector as ruled by Democrats see now as the time to force Americans back to the subservient roles of most in history and most on the globe.
“Progressives” sure seem regressive from here!
Welcome back to sometime before 1215!
This country as we knew it is toast! Future Shock becomes reality!
prepare for the re-education camps
Maybe our elected officials need a refresher from their Political Science 101 class.
Article 1, Section 9, US Constitution:
…No bill of attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed….
I thought the same but “Administrative” law (Taxation) has been exempted. Wikipedia holds that:
“A large “exception” to the ex post facto prohibition can be found in administrative law, as federal agencies may apply their rules retroactively if Congress has authorized them to do so. Retroactive application is disfavored by the courts for a number of reasons,[4] but Congress may grant agencies this authority through express statutory provision. Furthermore, when an agency engages in adjudication, it may apply its own policy goals and interpretation of statutes retroactively, even if it has not formally promulgated a rule on a subject.”
This is one for the courts and I suspect it will go there….
Forgot the punch line …
“In the 1994 opinion United States v. Carlton, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that retroactive tax laws did not violate the constitutional prohibition on ex post facto legislation.”
Now that’s good reason for us to quake in our boots … imagine a retroactive tax increase for all of us to fund this idiot administration’s social welfare programs. How about rescinding the Bush tax cuts and making all citizens file amended returns for the past 3 years? That would be just as legal. Holy Shit!!
One more update … the tax could be overturned on this basis:
Welch v. Henery “In the absence of any facts tending to show that the taxing act, in its purpose or effect, is a hostile or oppressive discrimination against the recipients of dividends who have been hitherto fortunate enough to escape all taxation we cannot say the taxing statute denies equal protection”
Therefore by showing hostility or oppressive discrimination against the recipient the tax would be unconstitutional on the basis of failing the rights to equal protection and due process.
The funny thing is a good portion of these so called executives are in England, so this is nothing but a BS cover our ass attempt to deflect yet another screw-up by the Obama Admin. This is what you get when the guy running the ship is more worried about tournament picks and making sure someone from the Secret Service (SS) is first in line at Game Stop when the new Playstation Teleprompter3 comes out.
Yep right on the money. They are not going to have to pay any taxes another scam by a scam congress controlled by a scam political party.
Retroactive Taxes? Holy shit.
Sounds like a deliberate trial balloon, to set a precedent, for their eventual 90% tax rate on the general public.
My own fking Congressman voted for this! Eric Cantor, I am officially done with you. I wash my hands of you and your ilk. You are nothing but a RINO~!
Keep that anger and do not let him back in just because he does the right thing next time. because a politician is a politician. just when you’re comfortable with them again you will get screwed once more.
im done with both parties. i say we just start a new one. trial and error for a while with a new party would be better than the two already “established” parties consistently screwing up.
My Congressman, Eric Contor voted on this bill! Here is my email to him regarding his vote.
In regards to the vote to tax AIG bonuses you failed to stay on principal. All I ask is for my representatives to act on the principals of our Constitution laid out by our founders. Article 1 Sect 9 of the United States Constitution states:
No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
You have set a dangerous precendent outside the boundaries of our Constitution by enacting law that is a violation of this very article. We now have lost another freedom our founders thought were essential. I am frustrated by the blatant disregard of the principals laid out by our founders in regards to the limitations placed on our Federal government.
As angry as I am about the bonuses it pales in comparison to the failures of our government in regards to both our Constitution and our tax dollars. Chris Dodd lied to the American people when he denied knowing anything about the stimulus containing a section that protected the bonuses and then eventually admits to it. Will he be held accoutable? I doubt it.
You also voted for the TARP fund instead of forcing AIG and other buisnesses to file for bankruptsy. Now we are dealing with the fiasco CREATED by our government that has resulted in hundreds of millions in bonuses and 58 billion in taxpayers money being filtered through AIG to Euopean banks WITHOUT our consent or knowledge and trillions more in failed buisnesses. Now our grandchildren will be burden with our mistakes.
I simply will not support anyone, Rep or Dem if they will not uphold the very articles of the Constitution as you had sworn to do upon taking office. You sir, have let down the American people and most of all your constituents.
Sincerely,
The perexisting contracts for the bonuses are binding and should be honored. They have indeed set a dangerous precedent. What’s next???
Maybe a lot of commotion over this issue to hide the fact that the Fed cut another $1 Trillion check today?
Very few of these politicians realize they work for us, not the inverse. This country is, and rightfully so, on the verge of a violent revolution.
I’m in….
NM Patriot
Time to break out your “Turner Diaries”. These despots are out of control. This is why we “cling” to our guns. Who in Washington is going to stand up to the fact that this is outside the Constitution? We do not give them the power to tax so they can use it to punish!
NMPatriot (AKA RacerRick) … I’m in