Ahrcanum

How could the America people be so naive to think that our government did not know about the $165 million controversial bonus money paid out to AIG executives?  Of course they did, and they know about the nearly $1 Billion in bonuses as well.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/17/cuomo-reveals-details-of_n_175865.html

The Obama reign approved the bonuses so that there would be less lawsuits by AIG employees.  Obama’s fictitious outrage is an attempt to divert attention to the fact that Tres. Sec. Geithner had urged the bonuses to be allowed.

Today’s required reading is from Charles Krauthammer at WaPo –http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/19/AR2009031903041.html  “A $14 trillion economy hangs by a thread composed of (a) a comically cynical, pitchfork-wielding Congress, (b) a hopelessly understaffed, stumbling Obama administration, and (c) $165 million. …The AIG bonuses were agreed to before the government takeover and are perfectly legal. Is the rule now that when public anger is kindled, Congress will summarily cancel contracts?” 

Apparently they won’t cancel contracts, but have summarily decided that anyone who keeps a bonus from a firm receiving federal bailout money will be taxed at a 90% tax rate.   The House voted 328-93 to approve H.R. 1586 http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h1586/show introduced by Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) the day before.  The Sunlight Foundation http://blog.sunlightfoundation.com/2009/03/19/read-the-bill-stimulus-bill-and-bonus-loopholes/  points out that,  had members of congress bothered to read the entirety of the stimulus bill before passing it with expediency, perhaps they would have known in advance, they were authorizing bonuses. It was available for only 13 hours. Shame on them. 

“I GUESS IT’S TOO BAD NOBODY READ IT BEFORE IT PASSED, THEN: The Stimulus Bill Explicitly Guarantees Contractual Bonuses Executed Before February 11. Yeah, I know, I already mentioned this. But it’s a point worth making again — they rushed this stinker through, and now it’s biting them on the ass. Good.” said http://pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/73719/  .  It isn’t “good,” for little old me the taxpayer though.  To know that our elected officials allowed this to happen in the first place and then to back peddle and put a tax restriction on it, is just as heinous.  Double shame.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee initially denied having anything to do with the allowance of the bonuses and said he never talked to Treasury officials.  Dodd corrected himself saying his previous comments had been misconstrued CNN reported, http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/19/aig.bonuses.congress/index.html.  Dodd lied and admitted it. Dodd is also running for re-election in 2010 against Republican challenger former U.S. Rep Rob Simmons.  Rob Simmons’  Senate campaign doesn’t have  web site yet.  Someone else  registered a domain name that Simmons might have used. Trouble is, http://www.RobSimmons2010.com isn’t exactly a message the candidate might be looking to spread. (source- Capital Watch http://blogs.courant.com/capitol_watch/2009/03/rob-simmons-has-no-web-site-so.html )

Did Obama know about the preservation of bonuses, did he too lie or doesn’t he have a clue what is going on in his administration?   Didn’t President Obama bother to read the stimulus bill that he signed, authorizing these bonuses?  Guess not. “Everybody’s pointing fingers at each other and saying it’s their fault, the Democrats’ fault, the Republicans’ fault. Listen, I’ll take responsibility. I’m the president,” he said at a town hall meeting in Costa Mesa, California.

AIG CEO , Edward Liddy inherited this mess and sat, about to be tar and feathered in front of grandstanding members of Congress yesterday, 03-19-09.  The display was purely for entertainment purposes and may have bordered on malfeasance.  For entertainment I’d much rather watch Obama on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.   “I do think in Washington it’s a little bit like American Idol, except everybody is Simon Cowell,” said Obama .  “Barackstar” in trying to play the role of politician and personality, managed more cluelessness during the interview by referencing the Special Olympics in describing his own bowling game.  “It was like the Special Olympics or something,” said the President.  Bad manners and a bad bowling game.

Blogger Steve Young reports that Obama has decided to bowl against 12 year old Billy Madison, a Special Olympian at The White House in the future.  http://steveyoungonpolitics.com/president-obama-to-bowl-against-special-olympian/.

At least this Obama gaffe won’t cost the taxpayers billions, now that’s entertainment.